


Compartment 451

by ziamhaze



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst, Dean Thomas - Freeform, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Muggle-born Culture, Muggle/Wizard Relations, Multi, Pureblood Culture (Harry Potter), ziam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-17 07:25:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 88,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18960607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziamhaze/pseuds/ziamhaze
Summary: Zayn’s a muggleborn wizard whose parents leave him to fend for himself once he’s made aware of his magical abilities. The Payne’s are an open minded wizarding family, who take him in and provide the boy with a loving home before he and their overly excited son Liam, go off to Hogwarts for the first time. Liam introduces Zayn to the wonderful world of magic, while Zayn teaches the pureblood about a way of life he’s never known. Somewhere between laser tag tutorials and petting Hebridean Black dragons, Zayn falls for the newly appointed Head Boy, but his three other nonconforming friends aren’t about to let the Ravenclaw go through his last year of school without letting Liam in on his feelings once and for all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Finally took the leap and decided to write a fic of my own after being such an avid reader of them for years. The idea came to me a few months ago and has since consumed my existence. I spent nearly 225 hours working on this over the course of 3 pre-planning days, 24 days of writing, and 10 days of editing, so for anyone who reads this, thank you so so much.
> 
> At the core, this story's about how people can come into your life and help you figure out what your identity is underneath superficialities and immediate environments. As a massive fan of one direction, I really felt like their relationships between one another lent themselves well to this particular message, especially Liam and Zayn's. However, it was really enjoyable to use the AU twist of a muggle and a wizard teaching each other about their different world perspectives as a vehicle to explore such a theme.
> 
> A HUGE THANK YOU to my beta reader Megan and also Brooke, who constantly cheered me on throughout the entire process.
> 
> There are a few disclaimers I'd like to make before you dive in:  
> \- This DOES take place in 2010, however, I used September 2013 - December 2013 calendar dates/days of the week to structure the story instead, due to the Hogwarts Express always leaving on September 1st and me wanting to have the first day of school land on a Monday (so yes, if you actually count the days as I've written them, they will be accurate to the weekdays for realistic pacing purposes)  
> \- Because this takes place in 2010, Liam and Zayn would have met the summer of 2004. I think I did a pretty good job of establishing that, but please keep in mind that the references made in the flashbacks and current time in 2010 are relevant to that time period - lots of research for accuracy went in to this bc I definitely didn't remember when YouTube became a prominent, popular platform or what pop culture references would have been appropriate for those times  
> \- THE BOYS ARE ALL THE SAME AGE AND YES, I'M AWARE THAT'S NOT ACCURATE, BUT DEAL WITH IT FOR THIS - Also, in the case of Niall's birthday being in September and school starting on the 1st of the month, I've made the cut off like how it is in the States (mostly) - if you were born before the end of September, you are allowed to attend school as a 10 year old rather than the required 11 year old age that everyone else would already be  
> \- On the topic of Niall, I'm VERY AWARE that lots of you will be extremely confused as to why I sorted him into Slytherin as he's typically a Hufflepuff, however I had a very thorough conversation with a friend on how his Slytherin traits just barely outweigh his Hufflepuff characteristics and I urge you to read that masterpost [HERE](https://ziamhaze.tumblr.com/post/184193872231/explain-how-niall-is-a-slytherin-go)  
> \- Another thing people will come for me about - Zayn was born and raised in West London for this story, NOT in the North. I have my reasons for this with his upbringing and what it does for him as a character, so if you don't pick up on why and you'd like to know more about it, please message me at the link in the End Notes and I'd be thrilled to talk about it with you!  
> \- Harry Potter fanatics: since this does take place after the second wizarding war in the late 90's, if professors/headmasters passed or did not return to their positions afterwards, I needed to fill in their positions. The people that were chosen were based on heavy research via fan theories and forums where others shared proofs/opinions on who would make the most sense - most importantly where my decision to make Dean Thomas the Muggle Studies professor came from - click [HERE](https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Dean_Thomas) if you forget who this original HP character was  
> \- Also Harry Potter fanatics: I did in fact make every spell/shop name/magical element accurate to JK Rowling's universe, incl the castle layout, yearly happenings (quidditch first season game dates, hogsmeade trips, Head Boy requirements etc), introduction to magic for muggleborns, electricity & wizarding - all that stuff, so I hope I did you justice  
> \- Finally, there's literally no reason it's 2 chapters other than the html script from so much italicizing wouldn't let me have it in one. No secret meaning there.
> 
> NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF - See the end notes for a look into how I brainstormed for the fic and other extras like what each boy's wand looks like. Spoilers are in there however, so I'd recommend waiting until the end.
> 
> AND IF YOU SKIPPED ALL OF THAT THEN AT LEAST CLICK [HERE](https://ziamhaze.tumblr.com/private/185133496921/tumblr_ps2lt7mscN1scd00h) TO SEE WHAT LIAM AND ZAYN WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE WHEN THEY FIRST MET EACH OTHER
> 
> Thank you guys so much, hope you enjoy!

“Malik!”

Zayn’s fingers grip the edges of his book, small frame jumping at the sudden exclamation being thrown his way. It’s not as if he doesn’t recognize the voice, hell his _dreams_ (both good _and_ bad) know that voice, it’s just that the Ravenclaw had been so engrossed with the words in front of him, that he wasn’t aware of his surroundings enough to see its owner beforehand.

Making sure to slide his bookmark into place before shutting the novel, Zayn looks up at the three boys squeezing into the compartment he was currently occupying. He can feel a small smile form once Louis’ initial scare has worn off, a sense of familiarity that the group brought replacing it; a feeling that he had missed dearly for the almost three summer months they were separated.

“You miss us?” Louis gets his question out right before he elbows his way to victory for the other window seat, Niall not taking much offense to the dirty move - probably because in this group you learned early on that there weren’t really any rules.

Before Harry takes a seat, Zayn gets up to give him a hug, setting his book down behind him. “Of course I missed you guys. I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of going into detail on _how much_ , but yes, you were greatly missed.” Louis’ scowling at the response, but Zayn doesn’t care, too busy noticing how much taller the boy he’s hugging seems to be compared to the last time he had seen him. “How much have you grown?”

When he pulls back, Zayn doesn’t move on to Niall just yet. Instead he pauses to take in Harry’s features, ones that were clearing catching up with his age, before locking his next friend into a tight embrace.

“Probably a couple inches.” Harry shrugs modestly as he takes a seat, though the bitten back smile on his face says that he’s glad someone’s taken notice.

Zayn’s patting Niall’s back as they break apart, finally turning to Louis, who’s got this shit eating grin that he secretly really _did_ miss. It screamed mischief, and even though Zayn typically preferred to stay away from earning punishments that could become of it, he had to recognize that some of the best memories he had at Hogwarts were because of Louis’ infamous smirk. He also likes to think that if it was the only thing the Sorting Hat was provided, he’d still have had no trouble placing him in Slytherin.

It clicks in Zayn’s head the innuendo that Louis’ about to make based on Harry’s words, so he holds up his hand swiftly. “Save it.”

The fact that Zayn knows what he was about to say seems to be enough for Louis, the older of the two leaning in for a hug. “It’s good to see you Zayn.” His voice is genuine and quiet (a stark difference to his initial shout), allowing for the greeting to stay intimate between the two.

Zayn mutters back a soft “you too mate” before taking his seat once more. He’s picking up his book, ready to shove it in his rucksack that’s sat near his feet, when Niall reaches over to stop him. The motion makes Zayn mentally kick himself because, why hadn’t he thought to show him in the first place?

This is normal: Niall taking immediate interest in whatever muggle thing Zayn’s got on him (though they were usually just books whenever they were at school due to electronics not working at Hogwarts from all the magic in the air). Ever since they all found out he was muggleborn, Zayn was used to the questions and attention when it came to the items, but Niall was always the one who paid the most attention. The fact that he was opting to take a N.E.W.T. exam in Muggle Studies was further proof of the boy’s intense curiosity for all things non-magic.

Handing over the book for him to inspect, Zayn watches as the other two settle in, checking his watch quickly and seeing that they should be leaving any minute.

“Where’s Liam?”

Harry’s voice pulls Zayn out of his thoughts. When he looks up he follows the curly haired boy’s nod towards the abandoned bag situated in the seat next to him.

“Prefect’s carriage is what he told me when we got here but that was,” he goes to check his watch once more, “like two hours ago, so I don’t know. Helping kids find seats?” They all turn to him with an expression that reads ‘you know damn well where he is, don’t try and act cool’. Zayn raises his hands up in innocence, “I don’t have a Homonculous charmed map on him, I don’t know!”

Louis gives him an unimpressed look. “This is Liam Payne we’re talking about. I’m sure the second he found out that he was going to be Head Boy he’s been preparing. Don’t try and tell me that the guy whose hip you’re attached to didn’t go over all the details.”

Zayn refrains from rolling his eyes, mostly because he knows that Louis’ right. _Louis_ knows Louis’ right and he hates how predictable they all are to one another. “He had to meet with the Head Girl before the prefects got here and then they all had their meeting. Said they were just going to make sure everyone got on alright and then patrol the carriages like usual.” Zayn softens his face, but keeps a serious tone. “He’s a bit nervous though, so just, you know, be supportive when he comes in.”

Niall’s handing him back his book, moving on to ruffle around in his own bag. “Oh come on Zayn, you know we’re excited for him. It’s not every day someone becomes a Head Boy without being a prefect first.”

And it’s true, or at least that’s what he was told in a flurry by Liam’s family after Liam received a letter from Hogwarts about a month ago stating that based on his leadership performance as Gryffindor’s quidditch captain last year, he was being chosen by Headmistress McGonagall as that year’s Head Boy. Of course Zayn knew the importance of the role and how prestigious and highly sought after it was after his six years at Hogwarts, but with the way the Payne household had lost their minds over Liam being unexpectedly chosen, he would have thought that they had won the lottery. Even the celebration they had for Liam’s Quidditch Captainship (a party that _still_ impressed Zayn to this day) was put to shame by the one held for this anointment. While he had been living with the Payne’s ever since being kicked out of his own muggle household for deciding to go to wizarding school six years ago, Zayn had never seen any of them that overwhelmed with pride or elation. There was no denying that Zayn felt the same way though. How could he not with the way that Liam had practically cried from happiness when it had finally sunk in, the boy proceeding to tackle Zayn in a bone crushing hug. _‘But I was only captain for a year and oh my god, I’m Head Boy Zayn!’_

Louis had been right too. _Again_ , to Zayn’s dismay. Ever since he had written back to accept the role, Liam was nonstop reading up on what sort of duties he would have and what to expect, since he wasn’t simply being promoted from a prefect like the average person in his position. Between all that and Liam’s birthday, August was a whirlwind of a month in the Payne + Zayn household.

“It’s not you I’m worried about,” Zayn replies as he puts the book back in its rightful place.

With a short huff, Louis speaks up, “I’m right here you know.”

“Good, then you can’t complain about being surprised when I sock you for making up some heinous fake scenario just to make him panic for no reason.” Finishing tying up his bag, Zayn shoots Louis a tight lipped smile before looking out at the platform and the bustling families saying their last goodbyes for at least another 4 months.

“Can you guys believe that this is the last time we’re going to be riding this thing?” Harry’s words cut through the air with way too much truth for Zayn’s liking. By the way none of the others joke about him forgetting that they’ve got to ride back to London eventually, Zayn thinks he’s not the only one - they’re all hit with a wall of premature nostalgia.

Niall’s now organizing his snacks for the ride, offering out a bag of crisps for them all to reach in and grab from. Zayn hears the bag, but he doesn’t pull his eyes away from the window. He’s too busy watching the Muggles Studies professor (and Zayn’s own special messenger) Dean Thomas escort a boy that looked to be a first year (if the lack of House colours underneath his robe was any indication) onto the train.

“What I can’t believe is the fact that we managed to stay friends after all this time,” the blonde replies with a mouth full of crisps.

The words are enough to get Zayn’s attention, causing him to switch his line of vision from the window to the train’s interior. Harry’s now getting comfortable by putting up the arm rests on his and Louis’ side of the compartment, moving so that he can lazily lean against Louis’ arm and spread his legs out on the rest of the seat space.

Looking around at the three of them, Zayn takes in how much they’ve all grown up since the first time they met in this very compartment during their first trip to Hogwarts six years ago.

He remembers it all too well: the feeling of overwhelming nerves at the idea that he was going to be going off to _wizarding_ school. And yeah, Liam had never stopped chatting his ear off about all things magic since he first stepped foot in his house at the beginning of that summer (except for when Zayn was filling him in on whatever he wanted to know about the muggle world, then Liam was all wide eyes and open ears, listening as intently as possible), but still. It was a whole new world for him, something that three months of priming from an overly excitable ten going-on-eleven year old didn’t even come close to preparing him for. Thank god he did have Liam by his side though. Zayn didn’t know what sort of mess he would have been if he had to go through it alone. On the other hand, after having found two spare seats in a compartment already occupied by three other naive first years, the two were never alone. Even after the sorting hat had split them apart, Niall and Louis into Slytherin, Harry into Hufflepuff, Zayn into Ravenclaw, and Liam into Gryffindor, the five of them always stuck together after that first day. How they got so lucky to find each other so early on and actually click as well as they did, Zayn would never know. Now it was tradition to snag their original compartment each year for the ceremonious ride. A tradition that was coming to a bittersweet end.

“You really think we could’ve shaken Tommo after the blackmail we had on him from his embarrassment of an Every Flavour Beans performance that first day?”

Everyone’s laughing at Zayn’s words, even Louis himself. It’s most likely from not wanting to believe that they’re all going to be grown soon enough, but that doesn’t mean that he’s any less proud of himself for not getting a sarcastic remark thrown his way.

“What’s so funny?”

And just like that Zayn’s forgotten about everything, his eyes focused on finding the brown ones that are now staring back at him from the doorway.

Liam.

“Zaynie boy here was just reminding us all of my most shameful moment in history,” Louis informs him.

“When you were sick in the Great Hall after trying to beat Niall in a porridge eating contest second year?” Liam’s smile grows once they all double over even more at the memory he’s brought up. “Or not…”

In an attempt to hide his rare blush, Louis’ up and out of his seat, causing Harry to nearly fall back in surprise. Pulling Liam in by his jumper for a hug, Louis mutters, “go back to wherever you came from Liam”.

“ _Supportive_ ,” Zayn reminds him aggressively, though the embrace clearly proves Louis doesn’t mean what he says. That, and the well known fact that Louis simply shows affection through insults.

The boy pulls back so the other two can greet Liam the same, ignoring Zayn and taking his seat once more.

“I had a spare second so I wanted to come say hi,” Liam says between hugs. “They want me to sit in the prefects carriage up front, but I told them I’d be sitting with you guys, so I just have to make sure things are all good before we leave and then I’ll be back. Until, you know, I’ve got to do rounds later, but that shouldn't take too long.”

Zayn can see it in the way that he speaks and the slight flush in his cheeks that Liam’s trying to act a lot more confident than he really feels about the whole Head Boy thing now that it’s actually happening. It’s a bit ridiculous considering the Gryffindor knows that he can let his guard down around the four of them, but Zayn figures that it’s got a bit more to do with trying to convince _himself_ that things are all good rather than feeling uncomfortable. If he ever needed help, Zayn knows that Liam would probably wait until the last minute to actually ask for it, his pride something that usually got in the way with things like this, but he’d be there for him in a second’s time regardless.

He makes sure to give him a reassuring smile anyway, hoping that his best friend can feel the positive energy he’s sending him and the silent _‘you’re doing great, don’t get too worried over nothing’_ message that’s in there too.

Zayn’s got to admit though, he’s pretty surprised that Liam flat out rejected, maybe even _refused_ , the preferential seat at the front of the train. He wonders that if he or Harry had accepted their prefect offers the summer before their fifth year instead of politely declining to focus on their studies, would Liam want to sit in the privileged area then? Zayn doesn’t like thinking about it though, because the idea of Liam sitting up there only because he had someone he knew to keep him company, rather than sticking with his loyalty to their whole friendship group, doesn’t sit well with him. Then again, would he be ok with Liam fraternizing with the handpicked higher ups if it was Zayn who was the one by his side? It was a thought that Zayn could run himself in circles thinking about, so he’s glad that the whistle of the train is stopping the trance.

“Well that’s my cue. I’ll be back in a bit,” and with a blinding smile, Liam’s leaving the same way he came.

“Grab me some pumpkin pasties!” Niall’s shouting down the corridor at him.

“Do you not have enough already?” Harry motions to the snacks that he had gotten out not long before.

Shrugging, Niall hangs up his coat before sitting back down. “They’re fresh now, and I’d rather not have to pick from the second batch later on. Besides, we’ve got Liam’s connections now so I’m taking advantage of that.”

“I’m not exactly sure that’s how it works,” Zayn finds himself saying.

“Either way he’s a seventh year, so there’s priority somewhere.” Whether Niall’s logic is sound or not, Zayn doesn’t know, but he doesn’t really care enough to comment either way.

“Speaking of seventh year and Liam,” Zayn turns to Louis with confusion as to how those two things were related beyond the obvious connection. “I’m making it my goal this year to get the two of you together.”

Without hesitation, Zayn says the first thing that comes to his mind. “What happened to goal making years one through six?”

It’s not as if Zayn’s completely dodging the call out, he’s simply tired of hearing about it. All of them knew that he’s been head over heels for Liam for years now. Well, all except for Liam himself. Sometimes Zayn wondered if even _he_ knew but was just acting oblivious to it so as to not hurt Zayn’s feelings since it wasn’t a mutual thing. Despite there being a possibility that it _could_ be a mutual thing, Zayn’s accepted the fact that he can’t jeopardize their friendship and risk upsetting the group dynamic for the rest of the school year, should he receive the rejection of a lifetime.

“Look, you have no excuse,” Louis presses. “This is our last year here and I know that part of the reason you’ve been putting it off is because you didn’t want to have to see him at school until we graduated if he said no, which he would never.” The boy’s got this stubborn look in his eye that tells Zayn he can’t ignore the truth behind his words. “On top of that, what other, better things do you have to do this year?”

“Pass the most important exams of our lives?” The Ravenclaw shakes his head, “and even if the bit about avoidance was true,” he holds up a finger to stop Louis before he even has the chance to reign victorious. “It’s only part of it.” Running a hand through his hair, Zayn sighs, all attention now on him. “I can be indecisive. Do I need to remind you how long it took me last summer to decide on what N.E.W.T. subjects to take? What if this is just another thing that I’ve held out on for a reason subconsciously?”

Now they’re all giving him pointed glares, but Louis’ still the only one to talk. “Zayn, you’ve been pining after him for 3 years. If this is what indecisive looks like then I’m a bloody goblin.”

“Debatable,” Niall murmurs under his breath, immediately groaning once Harry knocks the crisp bag out of his grasp and down to the ground, where a good amount spills out onto the floor.

Louis looks as proud as ever at the back up from his boyfriend, but it’s short lived once he’s back to Zayn. “My point is, you can’t wait until the last day of school to ask him out.”

“Why not?” Zayn retorts simply.

“Because it’s an utter waste of time, that’s why!” The shrill of another warning whistle mixes together with Louis’ exasperated voice and Zayn really hopes that he’ll just let this go because he’d rather not start the year off with a headache. “If he gets into another relationship this year because you didn’t make a move soon enough, so help us all. I’m not about to spend my last year of semi-freedom taking care of your moping ass like fifth year all over again.”

“Even I’ve got to agree with him on that one,” Harry speaks up, now back to laying against Louis’ side. “That was a somber Zayn year.”

Looking out at the platform again, Zayn feels a small jerk and watches as they start to take off from the station. “I’ll think about it ok?”

“No thinking, only doing. Would you really rather _I_ be the one to take the first step for you?” The mere thought of Louis being _any_ part of Zayn revealing his deepest secret to the person that meant the most to him had him shaking his head. “Then sort yourself out or I’ll have to. He’s not all that against the idea like you think he is.”

Zayn’s eyebrows furrow at the statement. “He told you that?”

“Well not in those words exactly.” Zayn’s eyes turn to slits as he waits to hear just how exaggerated Louis might have originally been. “Ok so not in any words,” the male admits reluctantly, “but he thinks the world of you, and your rose tinted glasses don’t help you notice his second glimpses every once and a while either.”

“Louis’ right you know.” Niall’s just about cleaned up the mess on the carpet, continuing on before Louis has the time to thank him. “The two of you just send glances at each other when you’re not looking and it’s starting to get a bit annoying.”

“Starting to?”

Zayn glares at Louis for a second before going back to the changing scenery outside.

“Just give it a chance Zayn,” Harry adds. “Death by what if’s is worse than the rejection.” Zayn would have to disagree on that one wholeheartedly. “Even if he doesn’t say yes-”

“Which he won’t!” Louis interjects quickly.

Harry nudges him gently, “I was getting there. Which he _won’t_ … He’s still Liam at the end of the day. I can only imagine that his rejections are more like feverish apologies than stabbing words. Plus, it’s not like anything would change. You’d have your answer and you’d still be where you are now: just friends. So, nothing to lose besides a bit of initial awkwardness.”

Is Harry completely wrong? No. Has Zayn already thought of every syllable that’s come out of his mouth a million times over? Sadly. Louis does have a point about it being their last year however, and to hell with it afterwards if he doesn’t get the response he’s been hoping for. But still, there’s a lot more to it then just having to pick up his heart and mend it back together if things were to go south.

“Like I said, I’ll think about it.” Catching eyes with Louis, Zayn adds more for conviction. “Seriously, I will.”

Satisfied that he’s at least got a fraction of fear instilled in Zayn, enough to actually get the ball rolling in some direction, Louis relaxes back in his seat. “And if he does say no, which he-”

“Won’t. I get it,” Zayn snaps in agitation.

“I’ll make sure he wakes up in a pool of his own sweat for the rest of his days at Hogwarts.” Before being introduced to magic, Zayn would have just written off the promise as a simple threat, but knowing what a wand can do, he doesn’t put it past Louis that he’d actually make it happen. “I mean I’m already a seventh year,” the Slytherin continues. “What are they gonna do? Kick me out?”

\---

Zayn would never admit it, but the second he wasn’t placed in Gryffindor with Liam he was gutted.

If he was honest with himself it was probably a couple weeks before the feeling went away fully. Even with Liam’s parents telling him that they would be shocked if he was put into anything other than Ravenclaw after getting to know him, and the fact that Liam’s entire family were legacy Gryffindors, Zayn still had a small glimmer of hope that he wouldn’t be separated from his new best friend. By now he’s grown to love his house, and the thought of not being around like minded people or being a standout bookworm in Gryffindor sounded horrible, but he’d be lying if he said the first few weeks without Liam by his side weren’t miserable.

Once they had arrived at the castle, all five of them dispersed to their respective common rooms, Zayn not at all missing the dreaded hike up the Ravenclaw Tower steps. With magic on his side, unpacking wasn’t exactly a job, and even though he knew all his roommates from years past, as Zayn lay on his bed with nothing to do, he felt as lonely as ever. Yeah, he had survived the summer without constant camaraderie between the five of them, save Liam, but the second they all got together it was as though Zayn found it near impossible to detach himself. Thankfully he didn’t have time to sulk over nothing since he heard the call from downstairs that the first years were back and they could head to dinner.

As he takes on the tower stairs once more, Zayn tries to listen to his roommate Teddy’s discussion on how this year’s Ravenclaw quidditch team looks in comparison to the others, but the sound of the entire house speaking at the same time ricochets off the walls and makes it hard to hear too much.

Even if the atmosphere was crystal clear, it still wouldn’t make a difference, because even though Zayn knows a lot about Quidditch by virtue of being best friends with Gryffindor’s captain (and arguably the best chaser in the school) _and_ roommates with Teddy, who’s their own house’s captain (and a standout keeper in his own right), he doesn’t have a lot of personal opinions about the sport. Sure, he goes to every game and flies around with Liam when he feels up to it on the weekends, but Zayn has much more to say about enchantments rather than what strategies they’ll need to implement if they want to win the cup this year.

Nevertheless, he’s a good friend, and knows that in due time the benefit of being in a house with other intellects will come into play and Teddy will switch to something that’s more his speed.

Or maybe not, because as soon as they’re strolling up to the Entrance Hall of the school Zayn feels himself beaming at the sight of Liam leading the Gryffindors.

Of course he had been there when the younger boy had received the Head Boy badge for his robes in the post, but there was something about the way Liam adorned it, paired together with his semi-confident stroll in front of his entire house that had Zayn feeling insurmountable pride. The sweep of his straightened hair against his forehead didn’t exactly shout intimidating leader, rather adorable puppy, but that was just _Liam_ , and Zayn wouldn’t have him any other way.

“Are you really going to do this to yourself for another year?” Teddy’s not even trying to keep his voice down, even though Zayn would greatly appreciate if he did the closer that Liam got.

“I already got the speech on the train, I don’t need to have it echoed to me every night by you too,” Zayn replies with mild irritation, but still grateful that he felt comfortable with someone he roomed with enough to act as an outlet beyond his normal foursome.

“Oh trust me,” Teddy laughs lightly. “I don’t want to have to have a repeat of fifth year all over again.”

Zayn tilts his head to look his friend in the eyes, “was it really that bad?”

“Mate, you nearly set yourself on fire - and not ironically either. Don’t you remember you were so out of focus when you were practicing the Incarcerous spell that you said ‘Incendio’ instead?”

How could Zayn forget? Not only did he have to lie about why his arm needed to be wrapped up for a week, but he nearly cost Ravenclaw ten house points when Filch smelt singed carpet smoke from down the corridor. Luckily the adrenaline from the mistake gave Zayn enough energy to high tail it out of there fast enough to not get caught.

“Not my finest moment,” he says in response, turning back to the hordes of people that were now in front of them.

Teddy’s laughing again, “No, not exactly. So spare us both for our final year, yeah?”

Zayn doesn’t have any time to answer as Teddy’s acknowledging Liam with a head nod. “Payne, we were just talking about you.” The words nearly earn Teddy a bruised foot.

Liam’s sending Zayn’s fellow Ravenclaw a look of intrigue, “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, about how we’re gonna take back our Quidditch Cup trophy this year,” Teddy shoots back.

While Ravenclaw’s weren’t always the most athletically inclined students in the school, it seemed that Zayn had come along during a particularly great winning streak in the house’s history. Granted they had lost their reigning title last year to Gryffindor (something that Zayn doesn’t even try to feel bad about around Teddy and his other close Ravenclaw friends because they all get the whole Zayn Malik/Liam Payne dynamic enough to not bother harassing him about it), but other than that, they had won three out of the six years he had attended Hogwarts.

Liam’s features soften, and so do Zayn’s at the relief that he wasn’t about to be exposed, but the former’s still show some elements of competitiveness. “We’ll see about that.”

Since most of their house has already scattered into the Hall by now, Liam turns to let his fellow Head Girl know that he’ll catch up with her later. At the same time Teddy nudges shoulders with Zayn and lets him know he’ll do the same, since he knows better; the two boys will be sitting with each other alongside their other three friends, away from their respective house tables.

In his early days, Zayn really had to reassure his housemates that he was extremely proud to be in Ravenclaw, and that he valued their friendship just as much as they did, but the connection that he and the other four from Hogwarts Express Compartment 451 had was something he couldn’t see giving up just because of their housing assignments. And _especially_ not because of some recommended seating tradition that muggleborn Zayn didn’t truly comprehend the importance of.

However, just because Zayn was the only Ravenclaw in his close knit group, didn’t mean that he strayed away from socializing with anyone from his own house. In fact all five of them were aware of the importance behind finding friends within their own houses (or other house friends besides themselves in Niall and Louis’ case), particularly because of the fact that they would be spending a majority of their classes with their housemates up until year six - when smaller N.E.W.T. class sizes would allow for no real house driven structure. Regardless, the five always came back to each other.

“So do you have bets against me that I should know about?” Liam teases once it’s just the two of them among the throngs of students piling into the Great Hall. “It’s a bit early for that don’t you think?”

Zayn considers going along with the joke, but holds back on the off chance that Liam takes it seriously; the last thing Zayn ever wants is to make Liam feel unsure of himself in any aspect of life, most importantly an area that he’s built so much confidence in. “As much as I’m sure my house would love if I did, I don’t think I could bring myself to go against you like that. Don’t think you’d ever be able to sneak me into another Gryffindor party with one either.”

Liam’s smiling, teeth on display. “They’d have to make me switch houses before I’d ever let that happen. Now come on, I’m starving.”

After taking in a deep breath of contentment at the declaration of allegiance, Zayn follows the boy into the Hall.

As he walks past the heads of the tables and towards the back, Zayn feels a sense of comfort come over him at the massive room decorated for the start-of-term feast. He passes a few first years talking excitedly about the food and the hundreds of candles floating above their heads, all while getting to know their new housemates, and Zayn can’t help but grin at the memory of doing the same thing his first night. It was probably one of the only times he had actually sat at his house table over the course of the past six years, since the five of them weren’t entirely brave enough to part from their tables that evening. The next morning was when it became custom for them to all sit at the Slytherin table; something that just made the most logical sense since there were two of them in that house rather than just one in each of the others. They decided to take up the end of the table to prevent the three non-house members from literally sticking out in the sea of green and risk being bothered from both their right and left sides. Even to this day Niall and Louis still made sure to position themselves as walls up against the exposed student end. Despite being so mindful, the arrangement didn’t make for a happy Slytherin table in the beginning, but once they came to realize that no matter what they said, the other three couldn’t be persuaded to sit at their own designated places, the odd looks and comments stopped (the sharp words and stares from Niall didn’t hurt either).

Taking his seat next to Louis, Zayn didn’t even have to think twice to scoot over so Liam could sit on the other side of him.

“Actually, I’ve got to go sit with the prefects,” Liam says sheepishly.

Louis’ head snaps up from his plate, “what gives, traitor?”

“ _Louis_ ,” Zayn warns. He doesn’t necessarily disagree with him, but Zayn would rather not be so outward with his disappointment that Liam won’t be joining them, regardless of knowing he has new responsibilities to tend to.

Liam can sense the shift in the group’s dynamic too; the distaste that they all have for the idea causing him to launch into an apology straight away. “I’m really sorry boys. I already didn’t sit with them on the train and it’s only for the one night, ok? Swear, tomorrow it’ll be back to normal, I just have to...I don’t know, establish rapport or whatever. Promise. Don’t be angry, alright?” He’s looking to Zayn to back him up on this one because out of all of them he knows that he can count on the Ravenclaw.

“Go on then,” Zayn allows. “Just don’t break your promise.”

It’s all Liam needs to hear to feel alright with leaving the group, but mainly Zayn, because although he had addressed them all, it was a given that if he wasn’t in his best friend’s good graces then Liam wouldn’t be able to live with himself. The second part of Zayn’s words were never an issue of contention with Liam, so he leaves it be without a response. Breaking promises wasn’t something Gryffindor’s were even capable of. It was in the rule book or something.

“Whipped,” Niall coughs under his breath once Liam’s out of earshot.

Times like these reminded Zayn of how Niall’s ability to not hold back from saying what he was thinking was one of the reasons he got put into Slytherin in the first place. “This really is what it’s going to be like all year, isn’t it?” He says deadpan while reaching for the pitcher of water in front of him.

“He would have stayed if you asked him to, so it’s not like it’s a one way street if that makes you feel any better,” Niall adds.

“I’m not about to make him choose between his friends and that role. You know I wouldn’t put him in that place,” Zayn explains while deciding whether he wanted chicken or roast beef.

“You’re a better man than I am,” Louis gets out before taking a bite of his turkey. “If Harry ditched me for some stuck up group of prefects I’d have his head.”

Harry’s sending Louis both a lovestruck and concerned expression. “Do I need to remind you that Zayn and I were nominated once upon a time? They’re not all pretentious like you make them out to be.”

“I know, I know,” Louis waves off. “You should be used to my dramatics by now.”

“Liam’s just doing his due diligence,” Harry continues maturely. “If he sits with them again then you can put that sticky shoe hex on him that you’ve been itching to try out.”

Zayn can’t hide the grin that’s showing itself from the conjured up image starring his best friend.

Louis points his fork at Niall and Zayn. “You both heard him say it, not me.”

They all go back and forth with random topics for the remainder of their meal, including Zayn asking whether or not they had managed to score access to a muggle tv to watch the latest series of Skins that had come out while they attended school last spring.

Zayn knew that he was a unique wizard still dabbling in the muggle world, but it was all he knew for the first eleven years of his life, and just because he had magical abilities didn’t mean that that part of him went away once he decided to pursue a different path. He was even more unique in that his group of friends never once made him feel excluded because of it. When they had grilled him the first few weeks of meeting, it was an initial fear of his; something that stemmed from a heavy conversation that Liam’s parents had with him and Liam before going off to school, where they explained that there were still wizards out there who thought differently than they did, that would try and make Zayn feel less than them, but as long as he stuck by Liam, he’d be fine. The two boys didn’t talk about it openly after that, maybe because Liam was worried he’d hurt Zayn’s feelings, he didn’t know, but what he _did_ know was that if the stern nod and ferociously protective look Liam was giving his Mum and Dad was anything to go by, the boy didn’t take the job lighty.

Zayn thinks that was the first time he ever saw how truly brave and loyal Liam really could be.

Turns out they had all managed to catch the show and Zayn turned from slightly reserved to energetic at being able to talk about a world he was king of - alongside Arithmancy, no one could touch him there either.

Part of Zayn thought that Louis only really liked the show because of all the sex scenes and mischief, but even that didn’t stop him from wondering why muggles were so boring sticking to drugs and alcohol.

_‘You know if they knew half the things we could do, they’d be having a much better time.’_

He couldn’t exactly fault his friend for thinking that way. Zayn wasn’t much of a troublemaker when he was kid, but he supposes that if he knew what he could do, that might have been different. When it came to Louis and muggles as a whole, he tended to stick to learning about vernacular rather than the more trivial things. Zayn blames it on the older boy wanting to sound cool by confusing other wizards with references they didn’t understand but _he_ did.

Harry’s takeaway seemed to mostly consist of the strong effects that the different drugs had on the characters that took them, and muggles who did the same in real life.

_‘So they inhale smoke and the smoke has something in it that makes them act weird?’_

_‘It’s more the plant that the smoke comes from that causes the effect.’_

_‘Oh, so it’s basically herbology.’_

Zayn smiled at that one.

Harry had his moments where he would take a study break and ask about muggle music or food, but the conversation usually revolved around questions regarding medicine, since he was hoping to one day become a healer. Each question Zayn answered, but after six years of friendship, his patience was running thin having to hear about how Harry _still_ couldn’t wrap his head around how muggle doctors could know so many intricacies of science.

And Niall?

_‘Hospital or not, I’d still ask Effy to marry me.’_

Liam and Niall were the two out of the group who were curious about pretty much anything and everything related to the muggle world. Both would let him go on for hours about the newest tech gadgets that he’d managed to get his hands on when they were out for the summer, and then turn around and take double that amount of time asking him questions on the smallest details of what he’d just discussed.

It wasn’t a secret that Niall was jealous of Liam being able to see Zayn in his element when they were out of school and he was back in Ireland - he let it be known. Because of this Zayn gave him as many tips and tricks as he could on how to act normal if he were to go in to an electronics store or any other public muggle place on his own, swearing up and down that once they were all out on their own he’d give him the up close and personal explanations like he did for Liam.

His best friend knew he had it lucky in that regard too. Zayn thinks that Niall might be a lot _more_ jealous if Liam wasn’t the type to take full advantage and soak up every bit of every experience he had with Zayn and muggles. There’s no use in wondering if Liam would mind them talking about the show without him either, since he had the privilege of sitting next to Zayn the whole time they watched it in an Internet cafe that summer and the ability to ask as many questions as he wanted in real time. Zayn didn’t even complain about how long it took them to get through an episode with all the stopping and starting.

For Liam, anything.

\---

As he listens to the Ravenclaw prefects make their speech about the new school year a couple hours later in the common room, Zayn’s concentration drifts in and out. He’s preoccupied with the memory of Liam’s face wondering why Zayn and Teddy were talking about him earlier, and all the possibilities of how the male might have reacted if he learned the real reason instead of the semi-truth that Teddy had given him. Even as he’s brushing his teeth later on in the night Zayn can’t seem to shake the concept of Liam knowing how he feels about him.

Retreating to his room, Zayn manages a few ‘good nights’ to all except one of his roommates who, like him, were tired from the excitement of the first day back and were already in bed. He figures Greyson was still downstairs looking over his schedule for the next day, living up to the house’s reputation for being the most academically prepared. In another world Zayn might’ve joined him, but if he was actually going to follow Louis’ advice and do something about his feelings towards Liam this year, Zayn at least wanted one last night of peaceful sleep.

\---

Living in a tower has its pros and cons. On the one hand Zayn loves listening to the wind breeze past the windows at night and the clear view of the starry sky, but every morning he’s reminded of the one blaring negative: direct access to the sun’s early rays.

After the first week of school Zayn had thought about putting up some sort of curtains to keep the brightness out until a reasonable hour, but he had to tell himself that he didn’t have his own room anymore, and the thought of disrupting the aesthetic for the others in the dorm had him holding back from even bringing up the idea in the first place.

He tries to look at the benefits though: at least he’s never been late to a morning class or had the misfortune of sleeping through breakfast.

Waiting for his first class of the term to start, Zayn’s grateful for both.

There’s no denying that he’s a bit stressed as he stares up at the front of the room. It wasn’t as if he was going to fail his N.E.W.T.s, that would be near impossible with a brain like his, it’s just a matter of whether or not he’s going to do well or hit it out of the park. As the figure of speech comes to him, Zayn makes a mental note to teach it to Louis.

Looking back at the front door, he breathes a sigh of relief as the other four enter the class. He would have walked with them from breakfast, but since this was the only course they all shared, he was chosen as the lucky one to get to the room a bit early in order to save them seats next to each other.

_‘It’s our only class together. It doesn’t make sense for us to **not** sit together. So go make sure that doesn’t happen.’_

Zayn was no pushover, but he did agree with Louis. What sort of all for one and one for all (mental note #2) group would they be if they didn’t sit together while all being in the same room? Liam had offered to go with, but Zayn told him not to worry about it, he had gotten to breakfast a bit late so he should eat. He was just relieved that Liam had kept his promise and didn’t even bat an eye at the prefect table that morning to be all that bothered about anything else.

“Thanks again Zayn,” Harry greets as he hands over the Ravenclaw robe that Zayn had used to mark his territory on the desk in front of him.

Slipping the robe back over his crisp shirt and tie, Zayn shrugs. “It’s all good. Just grateful I didn’t have to fight off anyone.”

Louis takes the seat next to Harry, dropping his bag on the ground beside his chair. “You get to sit next to Liam, don’t complain.”

There’s a small blush that Zayn can feel heat up his cheeks - something that he doesn’t think anyone can make out by virtue of being too busy getting settled in, but it’s there nonetheless.

“And me,” Niall pipes up as he slides into the seat to Zayn’s left, their desk for three officially full with Liam to his right.

Sitting down, Zayn takes back his parchment and book that acted as placeholders for the spots where his two friends now are, stacking them in front of him neatly.

“Eat enough?” Zayn asks of the boy to his right.

Liam sends him a quick smile as he gets out his own materials. “Yeah, but you know that I hate having to eat fast.”

And Zayn does know, knows a lot of little things like that about Liam. “If you keep showing up late then I guess I’ll have to wake you up myself.”

The flirtatious comment came from out of nowhere and Zayn was pretty proud of it sounding as smooth as it did. He wasn’t inept at flirting. If the time called for it, Zayn could actually be pretty charming, but it had been a while since that time had existed. That, and the fact that his mind didn’t usually allow for flirting and Liam to coincide. The real test would be how the other decided to respond.

“Good Morning everyone!”

Oh for fucks sake.

“It’s good to see you all again,” Professor Flitwick addresses the class as he walks to the front. “This is Charms for year sevens, so if you’re in the wrong place, now would be a good time to sneak out before I have the chance to reach the top of my podium and see your face.”

There’s a low rumble of laughter throughout the room. Normally Zayn would laugh along, especially because the professor’s the Head of his own house and he loved the old man’s witty sense of humour, but there was a time and a place, and right when he was about to hear Liam’s reply to his brave remark was not that time.

With the moment lost, Zayn focuses all of his attention on the professor who’s now made it to his normal teaching position.

“I didn’t hear a door close, so good news!” Zayn smiles lightly at how cheerful Flitwick always seems. He could count the times on one hand where he’d witnessed the teacher’s demeanor as anything other than caring and gentle. Even if someone had gotten the location wrong, which Zayn would have scoffed at, he doesn’t think the short man would’ve have had it in him to ridicule them too much.

“With this being your last year studying for the N.E.W.T.s,” the professor continues, “a majority of what we do will be review, perfecting what you already know, and filling in the gaps on what you don’t. However, I have something new to introduce to the class!”

Zayn’s curiosity is instantly peaked. He had looked over the syllabus already. It all seemed relatively standard in his eyes.

“I can see my Ravenclaws in the room panicking,” Flitwick jokes and Zayn immediately glares at the back of Louis’ head when he sees him point at Zayn without even turning around to see if his assumption was correct.

“I’m glad for your concern Mr. Tomlinson, but I think Mr. Malik will enjoy this.” The words make the small amount of students in the room who didn’t see Louis’ gesture, turn around.

“I think everyone will enjoy this!” Taking out his wand, Flitwick points at the blackboard, the chalk starting to write as he willed it. “Since I know that revising can be boring, I’ve decided to come up with a more creative way to reinforce what you know.”

Zayn jots down the date _‘December 2nd’_ that’s now visible on the board, keeping his smile to himself once he sees Liam in his peripheral notice what he’s done and follow suit.

“I’d like for each of you to create a ten minute presentation on your very own charm or spell.” The professor let’s the words hang in the air, clearly pleased with himself at what he’s come up with.

Harry raises his hand, “sorry sir. Do you mean to say that we’ll be creating our own spells? From scratch?”

Nodding, Flitwick puts his wand down on his podium. “Precisely Mr. Styles. Now you’re all students, so we won’t be _performing_ any of these spells but it’s your job to prove that in theory, it would work. That means that even though there’s no written component, you’ll need to do just as much work as if there were if you’re going to convince the class and I that there aren’t any holes in your logic. I want to hear every element of the magic that’s put into the charm and where you got that information from. It’s supposed to ignite your creativity and remind you all how intricate, yet amazing magic can be, so have fun with it. I’m aware we have a library full of spells and charms, so if you don’t come up with something 100% original then I can’t completely fault you for that, but I don’t want to see you simply altering something that already exists and calling it your own. Really think about something that you want to accomplish, but don’t know how to, or find a problem that magic can solve. I know it seems impossible to think of a magical world without flying, but _someone_ had to be the first to enchant the broomstick.

“Now,” he picks up his wand again and the chalk starts to write once more. “At the end of the month we’ll have a class where there will be no formal instruction. Instead, you may revise as you like while I meet with each of you individually throughout to approve your ideas. On December 2nd we’ll hold a presentations only class.”

 _September 30th - Proposal Due,_ Zayn writes.

“This took a lot of convincing to get the Headmistress on board, so if I hear of any of you actually performing your spells, especially incomplete, I can’t guarantee any sort of aid on my behalf if you’re contacted by the Ministry itself.”

Zayn’s sure that’s threat enough to keep Louis on a tight leash.

“So, how’d I do Zayn? Sound exciting?”

Zayn should be a bit surprised that the professor’s speaking so informally with him, but he blames it on their inner house relationship. “I’ve already got a few ideas,” he replies with a hint of arrogance.

It’s enough to have Niall gagging at how easy this all is to Zayn, and for Flitwick to grin proudly. “As a future professor yourself, I thought you might. Alright, so now that that’s out of the way, on to this year’s lab expectations…”

\---

By the time 6PM rolls around, Zayn’s absolutely famished.

For his first day back he had it pretty easy, only the one class in the morning and another in the afternoon, but Zayn’s stomach was so used to the unlimited snacks that littered the pantry at home with Liam, that it was going to take some getting used to only eating three times a day again. He could always ask Harry to grab something from the kitchens whenever he was hungry between meals since they were so close to the Hufflepuff common room, but he didn’t see it as important enough to bother his friend. When they went to Hogsmeade at the end of the month he’d buy himself some snacks to keep in his bag.

Reading the huge clock that hovered in the center of the dining room’s far right wall, Zayn sees that it’s only a few minutes past the hour. “Did you guys get here when the clock struck six or what?”

He takes a seat, the rest of them looking up as conversation comes to a halt. By the looks of their practically bare plates, it didn’t seem like Zayn was all that far off.

“Nah, only a few minutes ago,” Niall answers going back to figuring out which roll was the largest in the nearest basket.

Liam’s handing over a plate of vegetables, his eyes meeting with Zayn’s. “Good last first day?”

“Where was my check in Liam?” Louis asks with gusto.

Even with the question directed at him, Liam doesn’t let his gaze leave Zayn’s, nor does he bother to answer it.

“Wasn’t bad,” the raven replies nonchalantly. “Wish you would have taken Potions with us though. Afternoon was boring without you.” Hearing how easily the words flowed out had Zayn thinking that maybe flirting with Liam wasn’t such a challenge after all, he just had to let himself do it.

“It’s not my fault Slughorn only accepted sixth years who got Outstanding in their Potions O.W.L.s instead of the usual Exceeds Expectations grade.”

There weren’t any traces of embarrassment evident on Liam’s features, yet Zayn couldn’t help but feel a little bad at reminding him that they had all done just a sliver better than him on their exams. It was silly, because anyone who got an EE in a subject was clearly much better than the average wizard at it, and most N.E.W.T. classes at Hogwarts only required those marks, it just so happened that when they were all choosing what to take their sixth year, the Potions professor upped his requirements. Liam should consider himself lucky though. After learning the amount of homework they’d have for the year during that afternoon’s class, Zayn’s starting to question his love for learning.

As if he’s read Zayn’s mind Harry says the exact same thing before adding more of his own thoughts. “I mean the guy’s mental with how much he’s assigning between each lecture.”

“Bet you wish you didn’t opt for the five N.E.W.T.s now, huh?” Louis raises his eyebrows at his boyfriend.

“How many times do I have to tell you that they’re a requirement if I want to become a healer?” The curly haired boy chastises, going back to his meal straight after.

Out of the five of them Harry’s the only one who’s taking more than four, though Zayn’s practically taking the same since one of his four is actually an Advanced version. Liam’s the oddball there too because he’s decided on only three, wanting to ensure that he had enough time to score Outstanding grades in all of them instead of taking more classes and risk falling just a tad short of perfect like he had with Potions. Zayn had spent a few nights after they had gotten their O.W.L. grades back explaining to his best friend that his marks were already higher than normal, he didn’t have to try and match Zayn’s; he couldn’t even hold a light to Liam when it came to Quidditch or flying. Liam had denied that that was the case however. He just wanted to be able to make sure that if he wasn’t offered to play professional quidditch after school and ended up having to submit an application to become Mr. Ollivander’s final wandmaker apprentice before he retired, that the man wouldn’t need to look at another application after Liam’s - top marks and his position as Quidditch Captain were going to do that for him. His Head Boy status certainly doesn’t hurt his chances now, either.

Zayn’s just about to dig in to his now full plate of food when he hears his name being called from behind him.

Liam holds back his laughter at the annoyed look that Zayn’s now sporting.

Faking an indifferent expression, Zayn turns around to see who’s responsible for interrupting yet another important moment of his day.

“Professor Thomas?”

Stood in front of him was the dark skinned man that Zayn had grown to become quite close to since the night he arrived unannounced at his home in London and broke the life changing news. And a much younger Ravenclaw?

The boy looks more than a little intimidated to be stood in front of a group of year sevens, much less ones that are sitting at the Slytherin table. It only takes a few moments before Zayn’s remembering him from Platform 9 ¾ yesterday as the boy the professor had helped escort onto the train.

“Can I steal you away for a minute? It won’t take long. Mr. Horan,” the man nods his head at Zayn’s friend.

No one bats an eye at the exchange, Niall a clear favourite student of the Muggle Studies professor based on his performance, as well as his friendship with Zayn.

“Hi Professor,” the blonde greets back with a smile.

Standing up from his seat, Zayn follows the man and boy to a more secluded area of the Hall.

“First day going well?” The professor asks kindly.

Zayn takes a deep breath and nods, “yeah I’d say so. Yours?”

“Good, thank you,” the man replies with a smile. “Sorry to have to take you away at dinner, but I didn’t know your schedule, so I waited until a time when I knew where you’d be. You and your group operate like clockwork, you know that?” He’s letting out a small laugh, Zayn joining in.

He figures the professor’s referring to the fact that the five of them eat at the same time regardless of the window for dinner being a full three hours. “Makes things easier when there’s five of us.”

Professor Thomas is nodding in understanding, “well I’ll let you get back to them in a second. I wanted to introduce you to Elijah Rancourt.”

Zayn looks over at the boy who seems to be a lot more comfortable than before. Whether that’s due to only being in front of one older wizard instead of a whole group, or if it’s because of their matching Ravenclaw badges, Zayn’s not sure.

“Elijah this is Zayn Malik.” Zayn sticks out his hand for the boy to shake, impressed that he’s met with a firm grip rather than a timid one that most would have at his age. “Zayn’s a muggleborn just like you.”

Once the words are out of the man’s mouth, Elijah seems to immediately let the rest of his guard down and for Zayn, the scene from the train makes sense now; Thomas must be Elijah’s special messenger too.

“When I found out that he had been sorted into Ravenclaw I was elated,” the professor continues. “Makes this a lot easier.” Zayn watches the man’s contemplative expression closely. “How do I put this…”

Without realizing it, he’s holding his breath, not knowing how he’ll react if the next words coming out of the professor’s mouth are about this kid’s parents cutting him off too.

“Elijah lived with his parents for the summer.”

Thank god.

“So this whole magic thing’s a lot to handle now that it’s all in front of him.”

Made sense that the older wizard wanted to be careful with his wording; he didn’t want to overstep his boundaries and expose Zayn’s own experience finding out about magic.

“I was hoping that you’d be open to the idea of being his mentor. You know, answer any questions he might have or just be an overall helping hand since you know what it’s like.” The Professor looks a bit nervous to hear Zayn’s decision, but he shouldn’t.

“Of course. I’d be honoured,” Zayn answers right away, shifting his eyes down to the younger wizard. “I’m sure Professor Thomas’ done a good job explaining the basics, but I’d love to be the one to help you as you go.” He nods to the other’s Ravenclaw badge, “doesn’t hurt that you’re clever.”

It’s probably not best for Zayn to participate in reinforcing the stereotype that only intelligent wizards and witches are in their house, but he can’t help it when it’s with a fellow eagle; Zayn would never say something like that to anyone _but_ a Ravenclaw. His whole group of friends were proof that it was only a typecast, each being absolutely incredible at school - a surprise to some teachers because of how much mischief they could all get themselves into from time to time.

Elijah’s bowing his head in humbleness at the small compliment. _A true sign of a Ravenclaw,_ Zayn thinks. Not the boastful smirk that a Slytherin might have when they were commended on their intellect.

The man puts a hand on Elijah’s shoulder, “Malik’s as clever as they come and one of the most talented wizards in the school. You’ll have a lot to learn from him.”

Zayn knows that his grades would rule out that just being a biased opinion, but he still mimics Elijah’s humility.

“I would have come to you first but I didn’t think that was necessary,” Thomas says in a confident tone. “I had a good feeling you’d say yes.”

“Are we the only muggleborns you know?” Zayn asks the boy inquisitively.

Technically the professor’s a half-blood, but he’s told Zayn that he identifies more with being called a muggleborn since it wasn’t until later in life that he found out his biological Father was also a wizard.

Elijah’s nodding silently in response.

“We’re really the only ones worth getting to know anyway,” Zayn jeers, his facial expressions telling Elijah that he’s merely kidding.

In his experience so far in the wizarding world, he and Professor Thomas were some of the only fully confident muggleborn wizards he’d gotten to know. Exceptions existed, but most Zayn came across never seemed to do a good job at completely getting over their nerves in his opinion. If Elijah’s handshake was anything to go by, he didn’t think this kid would have that issue.

“I’m teasing,” Zayn relents once he sees how Thomas looks at him.

“Right, well like I said before,” the professor turns to address Elijah. “Making friends with muggleborns is good for you, but it’s also imperative that you branch out of your comfort zone, otherwise you’ll never grow. Zayn’s a picture perfect example that a muggleborn can be completely open with his status and still make pureblood friends from every house.”

“It’s true,” Zayn agrees with a nod. “You can’t become a better wizard without surrounding yourself with those that challenge you.”

“Zayn’s lot is a rare bunch though, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t find that straight away, but you’re never going to find it if you stick with a single type.” Thomas gives Zayn a grateful smile, “thanks again Zayn.”

“Like I said, I’m happy to do it.” The older student takes a deep breath and looks back at where the others are eating. “You’ve seen that I don’t sit with the Ravenclaw’s to eat, so I’ll meet you in the common room later to chat. Sound alright?”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Elijah sticks his hands in his pockets, and Zayn takes that as his cue that all that needs to be said, has.

He bows his head politely in dismissal to the two males before heading back to his table.

“What was that about?” Louis’ asking when Zayn’s sat in front of his plate once more.

Glancing up, he sees that they’re all staring back at him with interest. “Apparently one of the new Ravenclaw’s is a muggleborn.”

“Is everything ok?” Liam questions immediately, his eyes filled with worry that what happened to Zayn happened to whoever the small boy was that stood there earlier.

Zayn can’t exactly blame him for being so quick to ask, what with everything the two of them had gone through together because of Zayn’s parents. That aside, Liam’s ability to easily care for others was unprecedented. If someone didn’t know him well enough to see his fierce loyalty and protectiveness, they might even categorize him as a Hufflepuff with Harry.

“Yeah, he’s fine,” Zayn reassures swiftly. “Thomas wants me to look out for him though. His parents might not have disowned him like mine did, but they didn’t exactly prepare him. I mean, how could they, you know?” He takes a quick bite of his food, grateful that some sort of magic’s kept it warm. “It’ll be good to make a full circle and give that introduction to magic like you and your family gave to me to someone else.” He’s speaking directly to Liam, but his words are for them all.

“Good for you mate,” Niall says while refilling his cup

Zayn’s eyes flick back to Liam to gage how he feels about it, but the boy’s already looking at him with a prideful expression. “I think you’ll do great Zayn.”

The words cause the raven to cast his eyes downward towards his plate, a small “thanks Li” slipping out as a reply. If anyone asked, he’d blame it on finally getting the chance to eat, but really Zayn’s just too overtaken by the raw sincerity in the boy’s voice to fight be able to keep the stare or fight off the lovestruck smile that appeared because of it.

And that’s that.

Harry goes on about the fact that he wishes he had the time to take Astronomy, which only causes Louis to promise that he’ll take him out to look at the stars as much as his schedule will allow.

Niall mentions hearing one of the younger students talking about how dragons were a part of the new Care of Magical Creatures curriculum and goes into a whole rant on how it’s unfair that they never got to do that when they were their age.

Zayn loses track of time (and the number of sweets he’s nibbled on) the more that they get lost in each other’s company. The whole school’s practically came and gone for dinner, but the group of five could care less. Neither Harry, nor Zayn make a move to leave and get a head start on homework. Louis stays where he is instead of going to find a new first year Slytherin to “initiate”. Liam doesn’t even utter a word about needing to get back to his house to tend to whatever duties he might have. That’s how much they’re all enjoying themselves and their own world.

As he nurses his hot chocolate, Zayn’s gaze is glued on Liam’s crinkled up eyes as he laughs at some joke Louis’ just imitated from The Inbetweeners. It might be too early to tell, but with the way he doesn’t immediately turn away when Liam catches him staring, slitted eyes staying as they were, Zayn thinks this year might be filled with a lot of pleasant surprises.

\---

“I guess we should just start with the basics. Tell me about yourself. Where you’re from, hobbies, favourite football club, the whole nine yards.”

Realizing how late he got back to the common room the night before, Zayn didn’t want to rush formal introductions, so he suggested that since he and Elijah both had a break in the afternoon the next day, it’d be best to get to know each other then.

It’s a beautiful day outside, but the older wizard insists that it’s in the boy’s best interest to hear what useful bits of information he has on the castle’s layout, so they head down one of the main corridors instead of taking advantage of the weather.

Elijah’s twirling his wand in his right hand as they walk, Zayn to his left.

“Well, I’m from Brighton,” the younger wizard starts.

“Ah, a southerner,” Zayn says, glad that he can finally start to piece together some of his personality after their quiet exchange the night prior.

“You too?”

The raven shakes his head, “London. My family and I used to go down a couple times a year though.”

“London’s technically south if you’re looking at a map of the country,” Elijah points out.

“Geography buff are you?” Zayn chuckles, but he’s more amazed than anything else at the boy’s willingness to correct him without any notes of an insult.

“It was my best subject.”

The _‘back in regular school’_ goes unsaid and Zayn hopes it’s as satisfying to Elijah as it is for him to not have to clarify every small detail that might normally confuse wizards. But then Elijah’s still new to all this, so he’s probably just not use to having to explain himself like that quite yet.

“I was obsessed with maths.” Zayn takes a right to ascend a staircase. “You ever heard of St. Paul’s School in Hammersmith?”

“I went to Brighton College so yeah, I think I know about one of our biggest rivals in the rankings,” Elijah shoots back with a smug grin.

Now he’s definitely won Zayn over. “No shit. You **_are_** smart.” To have already been enrolled in that school before secondary years was way more impressive than what Zayn had to say. “I was going to go to St. Paul’s for secondary school. Before all _this_ ,” he’s motioning to the environment they were in, “happened.”

Elijah peeks a glimpse at Zayn from the side. “So you were serious about maths then?”

“Real quick.” Zayn points out a room to his left before answering the question asked of him. “The library’s on the fourth floor, but there’s a hidden staircase that leads down from the Genealogy section and comes out in that room. I’ve only used in once, and it’s a tight squeeze, but it’s an easy way to get out if you can’t use the regular doors.” Elijah’s eyes scan the room, making note of it before nodding that he’s clocked the information. “Anyway, yeah, my Mum’s an analyst and my Dad owns his own used electronics shop near our place in Notting Hill.” _At least that’s what they were doing six years ago_. “Maths sort of runs in the family. Plan was to go into engineering eventually, but things sort of took a different turn.”

“To say the least,” Elijah comments frankly as they move on. “So what’s the plan now?”

“Inventing,” Zayn answers quickly. “I want to come up with ways that muggle technology can be made practical by wizards.” He pauses, trying to come up with a good example to illustrate what he meant. “Take GPS machines, yeah? They’re in cars everywhere now and the new iPhone 4’s suppose to have an even better version for mobiles, which is fucking insane.” Zayn catches himself wanting to go off track on that, but forces himself back on his original topic. “Could you imagine having a wizard version of GPS? I know they don’t really drive all that much and there’s floo powder, but if they can make a newspaper move, can you imagine how sick virtual maps could be?”

The concept makes Elijah think, but instead of agreeing with the older wizard, he opts for cheek. “So no going to Cambridge then?”

“Don’t remind me,” Zayn gripes, a look of disgrace coming over his features. “No one ever understood why I’d get angry about that when I was younger,” he confesses. “I mean my whole life I worked hard to get into a place like St. Paul’s so that I could go to Cambridge or Imperial and then work at some amazing private firm as a mechanical engineer. I had it all planned out, and then Thomas comes to my door and hands me a letter and it’s like it was all for nothing.” Zayn’s quick to correct himself, “don’t get me wrong, I love being a wizard. But I’m not gonna lie, it took me a while to come to terms with this being a permanent thing and not just boarding school. Maybe for someone who was on their way to failing their GCSEs it might have been a dream, but it definitely didn’t feel like that to me initially.”

Elijah seems to be taking in the words, but the longer he takes to respond, the more Zayn’s wondering if maybe he’s been a bit too brutally honest this early on.

“You’re good with it now though?” The boy finally asks sincerely, stopping with his wand spinning to give attention to the answer.

“Honestly?” Zayn’s halting so they can sit on a bench that’s nearby. “The career thing I’m over, but the everyday shit? I don’t think I’ll ever get over that.”

Elijah sits down, but stays facing the open hallway. “Like what?”

Taking a deep breath, Zayn considers his answer and where the best place to start would be. “Like how I can’t just do things normally without second guessing whether or not there’s a magical way to do it. Yeah it might be easier to have pots and pans automatically clean for you, but that’s not my first instinct, and even now it’s still not. Or tying my shoes.” He laughs, lifting his shoes up to take a look at the laces. “You know how many weird looks I used to get first year whenever I literally kneeled down to tie my trainers? Just because there’s a spell for something doesn’t mean I’m going to use it like a regular wizard might. Those instinctual things are the majority of it.”

Zayn places his arm around the back of the bench comfortably. “During the summer I still mess with electronics and go to the cinema and skateboard and all that though. It’s sort of like my three months where I can catch up on all the advances and lingo and everything that’s happened while I’ve been here.” Thinking back to the past summer, Zayn smiles at the one spot he and Liam hung out the most. “I mean I practically lived at the Apple store this summer trying to learn everything there is to know about that new iPad thing that came out last spring. Did you see it?”

Elijah smiles knowingly at Zayn’s enthusiasm for something that’s still so normal for him, “yeah, they’re cool. Like a huge iTouch and small laptop in one.”

“Exactly!” The older male proclaims, shaking his head at how childish he could get at the drop of a hat. “Don’t even get me started on computers and the internet. I know I’m biased because I grew up in a repair shop, but how can these people live without instant technology like that? Mobiles and-” Zayn stops himself before he goes on a tirade, letting out a frustrated breath instead. “It’s mental, but whatever.”

“Yeah I’m not quite ready to have to do research with only books.” Elijah goes back to twirling his wand between his fingers while they sit. “I used to play drums.”

Zayn hates the way that he uses the past tense, but he doesn’t want to dwell on it when he’s finally being given a look inside who Elijah was. “I know everything’s probably overwhelming right now, and the class work might be a bit harder because you’re not aware of a lot of foundational things like the others are, though a Brighton College student like you will probably pick it up quicker than a lot of the purebloods,” Zayn compliments briefly, “but there’s a Muggle Music club if you want to keep playing while you’re here.”

“Seriously?” Instantly Elijah goes from eager to confused. “Why?”

Zayn can’t help but laugh, “consider it like a cultural thing for them. I think Flitwick heads it, but you can’t officially join until third year.”

“Oh,” Elijah responds shortly, clearly let down.

“I said _officially_ ,” Zayn hints with a smirk. “I bet since he’s our Head of house, and given the circumstances, he’ll let you use the room to practice a couple hours a week, as long as you keep up with your work.”

The first year perks up at the possibility of circumventing the rules. “Flitwick’s the really short one, right?”

“Yeah, and super nice, so your odds aren’t bad.” Zayn crosses one leg over the other. “You remember the blonde guy I was sitting with last night? Slytherin?”

“Sort of,” Elijah recalls unassuredly.

“He plays guitar. Will probably want to pick your brain too,” Zayn warns. “He’s obsessed with learning about muggles, and since I don’t know anything about non-magical music other than what I listen to on the radio during the summer, he’ll be all over you for that.”

“So those guys were the group Professor Thomas was talking about?”

Zayn notes at how many questions versus answers Elijah gives, but he likes it. Likes to see that he’s so curious in finding out who Zayn is, as well as about magic.

“Yeah,” he replies openly. “We sat together on the ride to Hogwarts our first year and we’ve been inseparable ever since.”

“I know I’m new,” Elijah prefaces, “but why doesn’t anyone else sit like you guys do?”

It’s a question that went through Zayn’s head a lot at first too.

“Tradition I guess is the best answer,” the older male responds with a shrug. “You’re put into a house for a reason, but making friends and sitting together and all that? There’s no official rules for it. People stick to what they know and that’s cool. If you want to only be friends with other Ravenclaws I’m not gonna judge you, it’s just that I don’t see why, if you got along with other house members, they can’t just be your normal friends? And I sit with my normal friends, simple as that.”

Again, Elijah takes a small pause to gather his thoughts. “What’d you tell your friends back home?”

They were bound to end up on the topic of home eventually, but that didn’t mean the sour taste in Zayn’s mouth wasn’t there when it did come up.

“That I just went off to boarding school instead.” Zayn switches from staring at the paintings on the wall in front of them to the body on his right. “Was a bit weird though considering I’d talked up getting into St. Paul’s so much that I’d just change my mind. Starting secondary school people lose touch anyway though. Living in a huge city like London, it’s just what happens when not everyone ends up going to the same place from redistricting or whatever.”

“What about when you went back for the summer?” The boy pries, not at all worried about asking the wrong thing now that he’s grown comfortable with how open his new mentor seemed to be about his personal life. “I mean I know I can’t do magic outside of school, but aren’t they going to think it’s strange when I can’t relate to them? Like what you said about technology, or films or anything.”

Zayn can tell that Elijah’s starting to go down a rabbit hole with questions, and while that’s what he was here for, they were definitely going to be friends after this one.

“I had to move out when I came here, so I can’t really answer that since I don’t see them anymore.” He can see the slight confusion on Elijah’s face as to why an eleven year old would have to move out of their home, but Zayn doesn’t address it. “I live in Wolverhampton now, or at least I have for the past six summers and winter breaks. Probably gonna get my own place when I finish school in June though.”

Unsure of where their boundaries are set, Elijah just sits quietly to avoid making the other Ravenclaw discuss a topic that was so private, but Zayn doesn’t see the purpose of being his confidant if he wasn’t willing to be 100% transparent himself.

“It’s not exactly a pretty picture,” he forewarns. “Are you sure you want to hear it?”

At the invitation, Elijah checks to make sure that he’s not just saying that to be nice. “If you want to tell it to me, then yeah.”

Zayn prepares himself before giving the other a brief version of the tragedy. “My Dad was born in Pakistan. He only came over to England to go to uni, but then he met my Mum and sort of just decided to stay. The East- I mean you know, you’re a geography prodigy. It’s not the most accepting of change or other ideals.” Zayn hopes that Elijah gets what he’s trying to get at. “My Dad was great though, like pretty open minded considering he married a British woman, but the magic thing was too much for him, Mum too. They’re analytical people, and as you’ll soon learn, magic’s anything but that.

“It wasn’t all bad though.” Uncrossing his legs, Zayn sat up straighter. “Well, the first year was kind of miserable, so maybe that’s not entirely accurate, but I got a best friend out of it.”

“That Gryffindor?”

Zayn’s looking at Elijah in surprise, “yeah, how’d you know?”

“I saw you guys talking before dinner the first night,” he shrugs, while stretching his own legs out. “You seemed close, but it was more of a lucky guess.”

“His name’s Liam,” Zayn clarifies, struck by the boy’s ability to make such an inference. “His family took me in so I had a place to stay before school started. Taught me as much as he could about magic before the term started, so you and I sort of differ in that respect. I can’t imagine what this must all be like without having any sort of prep beyond Thomas.”

It’s true too, Zayn definitely wouldn’t be as confident or put together as Elijah was this early on, that’s for sure.

“Just seems like the kind of place where if someone smells fear they’ll pounce, so I’m sort of faking it until I make it,” Elijah says calmly.

“You’re not wrong about that,” Zayn replies with raised eyebrows. “Especially if you talk to the wrong pureblood crowd.”

“Sorry about your family by the way,” the young boy offers sympathetically. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if my parents or sister did that to me.”

For those that know about it, Zayn’s used to their sympathy, so he’s relatively unfazed by the apology. “Shit happens, you know? Maybe one day they’ll come around, but for now there’s no use in killing myself trying to change something I have no control over.”

The two sit in silence for a minute, the heaviness in the air dissipating as the time went by.

“Should we keep going?” Zayn’s already up before he can get an answer. “So what about football clubs? If you say Arsenal, you’ll kick Liam off his top spot.”

Elijah smirks to himself, “maybe it’s best if I don’t answer that then.”

“Anything but Chelsea,” Zayn’s begging childishly.

“So uh, got any other secret stairwells to tell me about?”

Zayn sighs loudly at his suspicions being indirectly confirmed. “Just when I was starting to like you.”

\---

_It may be entering summer time, but London rarely ever seems to take the hint that June should equal a temperature above twenty degrees. Living in the city his whole life however, Zayn’s prepared with a jumper around his waist as he skates home before his parents start to worry._

_The skateboard underneath his feet vibrates steadily as the wheels roll over the uneven pavement of the sidewalk, the sound it’s making shut out by the music blaring through Zayn’s headphones. After having spent the last official day of Half-Term doing nothing but playing video games and pigging out on junk food at a friend’s house, he can’t wait to be able to do it again, day after day in a months time for the six week summer break._

_“Mum, I’m home!” Zayn shouts as he enters through the front door, letting his headphones hang around his neck before kicking his shoes off. Peeking his head into the front room and seeing it empty, he figures she must be upstairs, so he climbs the steps, deck under his arm._

_“Baba?”_

_There’s still no answer, which is strange since they had both been there when Zayn called earlier to ask if he could stay at Max’s house for dinner. After throwing his comic filled backpack and skateboard onto his bed, Zayn heads back downstairs._

_When he enters the kitchen he can see his parents sat outside on the patio with a dark skinned man that looked to be in his mid-twenties._

_Zayn pulls open the door, confused as to the different expressions they all have when turning to look at him._

_“Zayn, go back inside.”_

_His Mother’s rushed tone worries him, so he stays where he is instead._

_Looking between the three adults, Zayn can tell that they’re not friends. He hasn’t seen the man at the shop, so he knows that he doesn’t work with his Father, and the way his Mother just tried to usher him away makes him believe that it’d be unlikely that he worked with her either. So who is this guy?_

_“If you don’t mind,” the mystery man speaks up. “I’d like to introduce myself and hopefully Zayn can prove a few things so you find it a little easier to comprehend what I’ve explained.”_

_He knows that his Mother just spoke his name aloud, but the man said it with such tenacity that it didn’t seem like tonight was the first time he learned it._

_The unknown man is getting up from his seat and extending his hand out for a handshake, Zayn looking to his parents for a second before returning the gesture. “My name’s Dean Thomas and I’ve come on behalf of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to deliver this to you.”_

_Zayn looks at the envelope being handed to him, but he’s more confused on the school name. Why would any school ever name itself that? He applied to a lot of secondary schools, but he’d remember applying to one with a name that odd. If he would have even taken it seriously enough to apply in the first place._

_Turning the envelope over he notices the seal and wow, for such a nonsense named school it really was formal._

_Pulling out the paper Zayn’s eyes scanned over the letterhead and first few lines._

**_Mr. Malik,_ **

**_We are pleased to inform you that you’ve been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment ._ **

**_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl-_ **

_“I didn’t apply.” Zayn’s folding up the letter and putting it back in the envelope. “And I’ve already accepted my spot at St. Paul’s. I’m sorry.” He hands back the paper to the man, but the other’s not taking it._

_It wasn’t as if Zayn was going to be rude, but **owls**? What sort of joke school was this? And they sent a representative? Not even the elite at St. Paul’s had done that. They must’ve scouted him through his testing scores or something because Zayn would never waste anyone’s time considering a place like whatever backwards school this was._

_“We told you he would never apply without telling us about it,” Zayn’s Mum says with a matter of factness that he only hears when she knows she’s won a battle. “Now please, we’ve heard enough.”_

_Before she has a chance to personally escort the man back through the house and out the front door, Dean’s speaking hurriedly, “I know you can power electronics with your hands.”_

_Zayn can almost literally feel the colour drain from his face and stomach drop to the floor._

_“This is crazy, you need to leave now.” Except Zayn’s frozen in his spot, not budging a centimeter for the man to actually do as his Mother says._

_His Dad’s been eerily quiet and as Zayn looks over to him with wide eyes, he sees why: he’s furious. The longer he stays silent, the more his Father’s anger seems to build._

_“Zayn?” His eyes snap back to his Mum and he realizes that she’s gone from annoyed to conflicted at how her son’s reacted to the statement. “Do you know what he’s talking about?”_

_Of course I do, Zayn thought. I’ve been trying to figure out how it’s even possible ever since I picked up a broken radio at the shop and it turned on in a flash two years ago, but I haven’t brought it up to you because I was waiting until I had come up with a solid explanation. Or better yet, it stopped happening all together._

_“Um…” It’s all Zayn can manage to say and it’s like everything crashes down at once. His Father’s up and out of his seat in rage while his Mother’s taking a few steps back from him after putting two and two together._

_He wants to shout ‘No wait, I can explain! Don’t be angry, it’s not that bad, I swear!’ Only Zayn **doesn’t** have an explanation, and truth be told, the ability has only gotten stronger as he’s gotten older, so he’s not so sure about it not being all that bad either._

_So instead he just stands there in shock watching the scene unfold in front of him._

_His Father’s cursing up a storm in Urdu as he paces around their small rectangle of a backyard and that in itself should be enough to make Zayn run for the hills._

_“Who did this to him?” His Mother’s screaming in Dean’s face._

_Somehow the man’s both surprised and yet completely poised at the same time. “Mrs. Malik, can we go inside to discuss this? I can assure you that no one did anything. He-”_

_“So you’re going to walk into my house and tell me what to do?” Zayn’s surprised the neighbors haven’t said something at the volume of her voice with the non-existent privacy that London homes provide._

_“With all due respect, it’s not something that we’d like for others to hear,” Dean replies while checking the surroundings to make sure that no one had already picked up on what they were talking about._

_As the one blocking the doorway, Zayn’s quick to lead the way back inside, too scared out of his mind to look behind him._

_“We?” The woman shouts freely now that they were away from prying ears. “You mean the people who did this to him!”_

_Zayn watches from his corner on the couch as the rest of the adults take seats in the front room, his Dad sitting in his usual arm chair, Dean sitting on the other side of the sofa, and his Mum opting to stand._

_“I promise you that no one turned him into anything. He was born this way,” Dean explains. “It’s rare, but it does happen. I was raised in a similar situation, which is why I was chosen to come explain things and help with the whole process.”_

_Zayn’s Mum shakes her head, “no one in our family can do anything even remotely close to that or any of what you’ve tried to tell us already. Someone has to have done something to him.”_

_Dean takes a steadying breath, “no one can impose magical abilities on others. You’re either born a wizard or not.”_

_Zayn looks at the man with even more shock than before. A wizard? As in magic and wands and black cats and cauldrons type of wizard?_

_“So, I’m not a superhero?”_

_All eyes turn to him once more._

_It was the only explanation that Zayn could come up with over the years. The whole electric fingers thing, what else could it be? Apparently magic._

_There’s a humourous smile coming from Dean, but before he can say anything Zayn’s Dad is beating him to the punch._

_“Get out.”_

_The words are in his native tongue and said in the scariest tone Zayn’s ever heard, Father or not._

_“Both of you, get out.” This time it’s in English and Zayn’s glad, because even though he was fluent in Urdu, he needed a confirmation that what he had translated was correct._

_“What?” His voice is incredibly small and feeble, but Zayn doesn’t care. If the implication he was making was right, the last thing he was going to be rethinking was how weak he sounded._

_“You heard me. Get your things and leave. I’m not about to have a-” The man can barely even get the word out of his mouth, skipping over it entirely to save himself the trouble of admittance. “Whatever you are, living under my roof. You’re no son of mine.”_

_It’s blatantly clear what’s being told to him, but Zayn just can’t process it as real._

_“Mr. Malik, there’s nothing wrong with-” Dean’s cut off once more._

_“Like hell there isn’t!” Zayn’s Dad is up and out of his chair, his standing position making Zayn even more afraid. “Now you’ve got an hour to pack up your things before I’m calling the police. I don’t care about some secrecy pact.”_

_Once Zayn realizes he’s serious, the boy turns to Dean frantically. “Take it!” He shoves his hands in front of the man. “Take it away! I don’t even want it, just get rid of it, please!”_

_There’s sympathy mixed in with Dean’s surprise now. “You should go get your things Zayn,” he says sadly._

_For a second Zayn doesn’t know who to trust. It seemed pretty obvious that the closest thing he had to an ally was Dean, but now that he’s siding with his Dad, Zayn’s confused._

_“What do you mean? I’m not leaving, so fix it!” He’s shaking his hands for more emphasis to hurry up before his Dad gets even more mad. Zayn’s not entirely sure what that would look like, but he doesn’t want to find out._

_“First of all, there’s nothing wrong with you,” Dean replies with a more defensive tone. “You shouldn’t think of your abilities like that. Secondly, you were born with them, nothing can reverse that.”_

_Zayn drops his hands back down to his lap, defeated. “So I’m stuck like this…” The reality of the words sets in and Zayn gets up and goes after his Dad, who’s now stomping up the stairs. “Baba, please! I never do it in public and I haven’t told anyone, I swear!”_

_He feels helpless watching as his Father takes out one of their luggage bags from the hall closet. “I’m not dealing with this,” the man growls, turning to retreat into the master bedroom, the door slamming behind him._

_Staring down at the discarded luggage Zayn starts to feel his eyes water. Where was he supposed to go? He was only eleven and the family that he did have from his Mum’s side was a five hour train ride up North. Even if he used his savings to buy a ticket, there was no way he’d make it up there before midnight._

_Part of Zayn thought that he should just pack his things and show his Dad that he understood how serious he was and wait for this to all blow over. He wasn’t seriously kicking Zayn out, he wouldn’t do that. Yet the idea of the police coming and figuring out what he could do made him grab the suitcase and trudge to his room, figuring that he’d just have to go back to Max’s and figure things out in the morning. He’d have to lie about why he was there for sure (and do a damn good job too because it wasn’t every day you show up with your entire belongings at your feet asking to sleepover), but it was all he could think up at the moment._

_It takes Zayn the full hour to pack his things, mostly because he was purposefully stalling in case his Dad came out and told him he had changed his mind. That, or his Mum told him that she’d talk to her husband and he could at least stay until the morning. Zayn saw the way she flinched when he got too close to her however. Even if her fear wasn’t valid, Zayn knew that there was no point in trying to convince her otherwise; fear was always much more powerful than anger._

_When he came back down the stairs, Zayn’s surprised to find that Dean’s still waiting in the sitting room, though his Mum was nowhere to be found._

_The man’s eyes are filled with sympathy when he sees Zayn and his things. “Is that everything?” He asks while getting up to come help take what he could._

_Normally Zayn would be hesitant trusting a stranger like this, but there weren’t really any other options._

_Not being able to bring himself to speak, the boy just nodded._

_“Do you want to stay with me until we figure out what to do?”_

_Dean’s comforting voice was a nice change to all that he had heard since getting home. It made Zayn believe that he wasn’t the type to kidnap him or do anything bad, but if he did, then maybe he could channel his “abilities” and fry the man. He’d never tried the electric thing on people, but there’s always a first time for everything._

_Zayn gives Dean a final once over to assess his intentions, succumbing to the wizard and shrugging moments later, “I guess.”_

_Looking around the house as the two made their way out, Zayn tries not to think of this as the last time he would be there. It was too much of a snap decision. His parents were just scared, that’s all. They’d come around eventually._

Zayn wakes up to a snoring Teddy, eyes squinting through the dark at the clock in the room.

4:37 AM.

He slams his head back down against his pillow, staring up at the dark ceiling and not wanting to move, but also not wanting to fall asleep again in case he has to relive the nightmare. A nightmare that he wishes was only that and not an actual memory.

Throwing his legs over the side of the bed a couple minutes later, Zayn knows that there’s no use in even trying to go back to sleep. “Common room read it is,” he mumbles to himself, doing his best not to fall down the stairs in his sleepy daze.

\---

Besides supporting rival football clubs, Zayn finds out that he and Elijah end up having a lot in common. The mentorship wasn’t something that he was expecting going into his last year at Hogwarts, especially not with his workload, but it seems like it’ll be more of a means of de-stressing than anything else. Except for the fact that having to talk so much about his past life had brought on two sleepless nights after their introductory hang out session. It wasn’t the boy’s fault that getting to know each other had involved Zayn having to extensively explain his past, or that his parents were as adverse to anything that wasn’t ‘normal’ as they were, but even so. Opening up the old wounds weren’t doing good for his eight hours a night.

Apparently he wasn’t doing a good job at hiding it either.

“You look exhausted,” Elijah notes as they walk to lunch together after bumping into each other in the corridor on the way to the Great Hall.

“I’m not sure if that’s meant to be an insult or you being concerned,” Zayn quips, wishing that he had a mirror to inspect the damage.

The younger boy shrugs, “both. Have you not been sleeping?”

Zayn shakes his head lightly, “nightmares.” He leaves it at that, not wanting to get into the details anymore than the boy probably wants to hear about them.

When they’re about to split for Zayn to pass up the Ravenclaw table, he nudges Elijah. “Come meet the guys, yeah?”

A flash of insecurity passes over Elijah’s face, but it’s gone as quickly as it came. “Sure, ok.”

“I wouldn’t be friends with them if they weren’t good lads,” Zayn assures him after seeing the doubtful expression.

“I know, I know,” Elijah replies hastily as he follows. “From what you’ve told me about them they sound ace. New kid thing I guess.”

Zayn gets that. Would have had to go through the whole thing himself if he had continued on to a new muggle school. Luckily he managed to avoid that then _and_ at Hogwarts, already walking into his first day at the castle with the four that are now in front of him.

“Guys this is Elijah.”

The young boy shifts in his spot at the attention being brought towards him, but he’s got a confident expression that Zayn’s quite proud of given the age and experience difference between him and the group.

Liam’s out of his seat and standing to give the boy a proper handshake. “It’s good to meet you. I’m Liam.”

 _You’re far too much of a gentleman is what you are_ , Zayn thinks fondly.

“Bloody Liam getting out of his seat,” Louis complains, not budging from his place on the bench. “We’ve all got manners, Liam just likes to show his off.”

Elijah bites his bottom lip to keep from smiling too wide at the slight. “Louis then?”

Zayn’s laughing at the correct labeling by means of banter. He might just have to bring Elijah around more often if he’s going to put Louis in his place like this.

The Slytherin’s turns to Zayn with unease, “what have you told him Malik…”

“Enough, apparently,” Zayn says without thinking twice about filtering his words, immune to any comeback that it might elicit from his friend by now.

“Alright, go on then.” Louis points to the two that are left unintroduced. “Who are they?”

Zayn drops his book bag down on the bench, unintimidated by Louis’ challenge since he knows Elijah will get it right.

“Niall and Harry,” the boy answers with only mild hesitation, the badges on their robes enough for him to deduce the last two.

Louis doesn’t even bother to respond and Zayn’s not sure if that’s because he’s upset his friend didn’t _only_ talk about him, or because he’s lost his authoritative test.

“Nice to meet you,” Harry’s smiling at Elijah in a welcoming manor.

“Is it Eli or Elijah?” Niall’s asking before taking a huge bite out of his sandwich.

“Either, but people usually just go with Elijah.”

Niall nods in acknowledgment, but his attention picks up immediately when he hears Zayn say “he plays the drums. So you’ll probably see him in the music room sometime.”

“Really?” The blonde swallows before continuing, “Flitwick let you in as a first year?”

“No, just for practicing on my own, but he says that if I do well first term then maybe he’ll let me in after Christmas break.” Elijah replies while he notes what’s on the table for lunch.

“Because you’re that good or because you’re a Ravenclaw?” Louis buts in.

“Because he’s that good,” Zayn answers blindly, not knowing if that was the case at all, but feeling the need to stand up for the kid anyway. “And because he can actually play, rather than just wave a wand around like most people in that room.”

“Sound.” Louis seems impressed by both Elijah’s skill and Zayn’s dig at the percussionists. “Well, you’re good in my book if you’re good in Zayn’s,” he concludes.

There’s a general consensus from the rest of them, Elijah looking relieved that they all seemed to take a liking to him right off the bat. “It’s nice to meet you all, but I’m gonna head over to eat. I’ll see you later Zayn.”

“See ya,” the older Ravenclaw says as he takes his own seat in front of Liam.

“Seems nice,” Liam suggests softly once the boy’s walked off.

“Ya think everyone’s nice Liam,” Niall argues with his mouth full.

As a rule, Zayn typically finds himself coming to Liam’s defense anytime someone ridicules the wizard’s personality, but he’s refraining this time because his friend’s not entirely wrong.

“I dare you to come up with something bad to say about someone,” Louis adds with a piercing stare, just waiting for the Gryffindor to fail.

Liam takes a sip of his drink before speaking, “give me an hour.”

“The fact that you need an hour to prep, proves my point exactly,” Louis retorts after rolling his eyes, the response on par with what he expected.

“Oh no, that’s just the amount of time I think it’ll take to get through my list on you.”

Zayn’s bursting out laughing, covering his mouth to ensure that he doesn’t spit out any of his food.

Liam looks over at him, trying not to smile too wide, but Zayn can tell that he’s incredibly proud of himself.

“And with that, I’m leaving,” Louis announces as he starts to get up, caught off guard by the quick insult, but running with the theatrics anyway.

Not hearing Liam resend his joke at the threat, Zayn’s now the proud one.

“Come on, he was just kidding,” Harry’s whining as he watches Louis pick up his books from the table.

“Liam’s quirk aside,” Louis sends an overly dramatic glare to the Gryffindor, “I did want to meet with Babbling to try and get on his good side early in the year. I need all the favouritism I can get in that class since none of you are in it.”

One foreign language was enough for Zayn, he didn’t need to add Ancient Ruins to that.

“Fine,” Harry concedes with a small pout, knowing he’s not going to win the battle. “Come find me after?”

Louis leans down to get him a quick kiss, “always.”

The Hufflepuff watches him leave before turning back to the group, determined. “Alright, I need your guys’ help.”

“If this is about school,” Niall interjects, “I think you already know that you’re smarter than me.”

Harry’s brow creases in disapproval that his friend would think that about himself. “You’re better at Defense Against the Dark Arts than I am,” he points out kindly.

“Barely,” Niall murmurs, Zayn about to give his own two cents on the subject because the Irishman’s talent was most definitely unparalleled to anyone in the group, but Harry’s beating him to it.

“You are,” the boy affirms strongly. “But no, this isn’t about school, it’s about Louis. Our anniversary is next week.”

As soon as the words leave Harry’s mouth, Zayn’s forgotten about Niall’s dueling skills and is about ready to follow the male’s boyfriend out of the dining hall.

“How can we forget?” he complains. “Louis only reminds us as much as humanly possible that it only took you two a week before you knew it was love.”

“I think it’s kind of romantic that they’re still together after falling in love so quick,” Liam confesses from his spot at the table, pushing around his fruit and not minding that his opinion was an unpopular one.

Louis was right, _bloody Liam_.

Given what they know about Zayn and his unrequited love, Niall and Harry look at him pointedly.

“Yeah, you should learn a thing or two Zayn,” Niall advises with more seriousness than there is humour, and it makes the Ravenclaw squint his way.

Maybe it was more like bloody Niall.

“You need relationship help?”

Not even compassionate Harry can keep himself from laughing at Liam’s ironic question, one that’s filled with genuine concern. “Oh you have no idea…”

Ok so all of them can fuck off.

“I didn’t know you liked someone,” Liam says with newfound confusion because that’s normally something Zayn would let him in on being as close as they were.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Zayn replies nonchalantly, mostly to reassure Liam that he wasn’t hiding anything from him. The other reason being that he’d rather not draw any more attention to the subject than need be.

Niall snorts, “keep telling yourself that.”

“So you guys know?” Now Liam looks really hurt and Zayn nearly confesses right then and there to make that kicked puppy look disappear from his face at being kept out of the loop - out of _Zayn’s_ loop.

“They figured it out, I didn’t tell them.” Zayn’s words seem to dial back Liam’s level of anguish, but not all of it. “I’ll point them out in Charms on Monday, ok?”

The promise seems to do its job of stopping the inquiries and also healing Liam’s temporary unhappiness.

Zayn listens as Harry goes back to delegating them decorating jobs for next week, but he’s more focused on figuring out what’s going to come of Monday.

\---

With the colder weather approaching, the boys want to make sure that they take advantage of the clear skies and late sunsets. It’s how Zayn finds himself leaned up against a tree in one of the school’s large courtyards the next afternoon, ankles resting on top of Liam’s as the Gryffindor lays flat on the grass, the other three sat around him.

“Is that the end of the story?” Niall’s asking in a bored tone.

“Well...yeah,” Harry responds, his forehead creased from being offended by the lack of interest the blonde’s expressing. “Don’t sound too excited.”

“In Niall’s defense, it did take you,” Zayn looks down at his watch, “eighteen minutes to tell and we still don’t know whether or not the girl got her hair back.”

“Well I don’t know either if it makes you feel any better,” Harry replies defensively from his spot sprawled over Louis.

“It doesn’t,” Liam answers for Zayn without missing a beat.

It’s not that Harry doesn’t have unique stories to tell, Zayn was genuinely interested when he had led with _‘do you guys want to hear about this girl losing her hair in herbology today?’_ , it was the whole having to be patient through the novel that he didn’t enjoy. And really a resolution (or lack thereof) to a story shouldn’t be a reward for sitting through a retelling of someone’s day.

Louis simply patted Harry on the chest sympathetically, “just means there’ll have to be a part two, now won’t there love?”

Zayn doesn’t look, but he would bet that Niall sends Louis daggers at giving Harry the idea and seal of approval.

“Zayn, what time is it?” Liam asks, squinting from the sun as he looks over for his answer.

“Bout 5:30.”

Inhaling sharply, he uses his strength to hoist himself up to a sitting position. “Gonna go check quidditch inventory before dinner.”

Zayn removes his legs from atop Liam’s so the male can stand, catching eyes with Louis who’s now mouthing for him to _‘go with him’_.

Before he can even stop himself Zayn’s blurting out “Can I come with?”

Liam looks down at him, wiping his hands on trousers before reaching one out to help the boy off the ground. “Of course.”

Zayn knows that he’s supposed to be making moves, but he can’t bring himself to snatch Liam’s hand back once he’s pulling it away now that Zayn’s standing. It was too much at once. Baby steps.

“We’ll meet you guys at six, yeah?” Liam’s question is rhetorical, so Zayn simply follows his lead afterwards, but he doesn’t get too far.

“Mr. Malik, just the person I was looking for. Can I speak to you about tutoring this year?”

Zayn’s glad he has decent acting skills to cover up his scowl, because he’s really starting to get tired of being interrupted by professors and it’s only the fifth day of term.

“Sure,” he answers with fake enthusiasm, sending a regretful look to Liam before walking towards a waiting Professor Vector.

“I’ll go with you Payno,” Louis declares as soon as Zayn disappears into the castle with the woman.

Liam turns his attention to the Slytherin, skepticism written on his face. “You hate quidditch...”

“Yes, but I love _you_ , so accept the companionship for what it is.”

Harry and Niall exchange looks, but Louis chooses to ignore them as he stands up and claps a hand on Liam’s shoulder.

“Why do I have a feeling you’re not telling me something,” Liam says as soon as they start walking away from the courtyard and towards the broom sheds.

“Or are _you_ the one not telling _me_ something?” Louis counters sarcastically, maneuvering around the other students that were enjoying the sun.

Liam looks at him confused, “I, uh...no?”

Louis’ unfazed at the response, pocketing his hands. “Zayn seemed to have a good summer at your place.”

Liam’s even more perplexed at the topic he’s chosen to switch to. “I would hope so, he’s lived there for the past five of them.”

Louis smiles down at the grass at how Liam’s quickness has improved over the years. “Speaking of Zayn, do you know if he fancies anyone at the moment?”

“Yeah, he told me yesterday,” Liam replies easily, but the memory of the day prior brings back his feelings of exclusion.

Louis stops in his tracks and stares up at Liam in disbelief. “He did?”

Liam halts along with his friend, expression turning into frustration. “Yeah, but I’m a little angry that you guys knew before me.”

“It was blatantly obvious, we didn’t exactly wait for him to confess it to us,” Louis chuckles. “Besides, he didn’t want to jeopardize your guys’ friendship in case things didn’t go to plan.”

Liam goes back to being confused, “why would it do that?”

Taking his hands out of his pockets, Louis went on to count each reason on his fingers, “share a house together, are best friends, hang out with the same group: all things that could change over night if you rejected him.”

“Me?” Liam gawks, mouth on the verge of falling wide open from shock at what the boy’s just told him.

“That’s what _we_ all said, but no one could convince him that you, of all people, wouldn’t reject him. Guess he owes me an apology after all these years,” Louis tisks while shaking his head.

Liam’s eyes widen in astonishment, his tone matching the facial expression. “Years!?”

The Slytherin examines his friend with suspicion, unclear as to why he was so amazed. “What am I missing here?”

“ _You_?” Liam roars, unbothered at the odd glances those within proximity were giving him. “More like what am _I_? _I’m_ the person he likes in Charms class?”

Louis squints at the boy’s outburst. “I’m sorry, didn’t you just say he told you?”

Liam runs a hand through his hair, the straightened strands falling right back on his forehead seconds after. “Yeah that he liked _someone_ , not who it was.”

Instantly Louis’ face drops and the fear sets in. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

Liam doesn’t hear what the other’s said in the slightest, too focused on trying to comprehend the bombshell. “Zayn likes me…”

“You’re right, I do hate quidditch,” Louis says exasperatedly, grasping at whatever redemption was left. “I was just coming over to get a few quotes to pass on to him as confidence boosters, not do the damn thing for him.” He lets out a stress filled breath, then going on to bit the inside of his cheek. “He’s actually going to kill me.”

“How long Louis?” Liam asks urgently, needing to know the length of his oblivion towards something so incredibly close to him. “ How many years?”

The boy stops focusing on his fuck up long enough to think back on when it was that Zayn had started to show any signs of his infatuation. “Well he officially admitted it fourth year, but I couldn’t-”

“It’s been three years?” Liam’s continued raised volume causes more people to look their way, but he doesn’t register any of them.

“You know the more that we keep talking, the more it’s starting to hit me how bad this really is,” Louis admits as he watches Liam start to walk himself in a circle.

The younger wizard pauses and stares at Louis in fury. “I can’t believe you all kept this from me for three years!”

“Stop yelling, would ya?” Louis looks around to see if they’ve got any eavesdroppers, grabbing Liam’s arm and pulling him in their intended direction. “Look, he said he would think about putting things in motion this term and if his comment about being your personal wake up call on Monday was anything to go by, then it looks like he’s actually going through with it.”

Liam glanced over at Louis with a much more controlled expression. “You heard that?”

“I hear everything,” the older boy responds arrogantly. “But that’s beside the point. What are you gonna do?”

“Can you give me a minute to process it?” Liam runs a hand over his face in distress, his anger now replaced with feelings of being overwhelmed. “I mean there were times when I thought maybe there was _something_ there but we’re a close group, I just always blamed it on that.”

“You’re worse than I thought,” Louis scoffs.

“I’m sorry that not all of us can fall in love in a week,” Liam retorts with a hint of bitterness, not caring if he had called the relationship romantic the day before or not.

“Don’t forget, our anniversary is next Wednesday,” Louis reminds him cheerfully, the smile that’s forming immediately dropping once Liam stops in his steps to shoot the male a death stare. “Right, sorry, wrong time,” Louis apologizes fervently, following after Liam who’s now back to walking towards the storage sheds. “So uh, you feel something too, right? Or should I pass on the message that we need to prepare for the end.”

As they near the structures, Louis starts to worry at the amount of time that the other’s taking to answer him.

“Close your ears,” Liam warns, taking out his wand. When Louis doesn’t budge he points the wood at the male, “or I’ll do it for you.”

“Ok ok, fucking hell.” Putting a finger in each ear, Louis watches as Liam says some sort of passcode that unlocks the storage. Figuring that it’s clear, he unplugs his ears and leans against the outside of the shed, leaving Liam to do his counting and inventory alone. “I’ll take your silence as a no…”

“I didn’t say that,” Liam pipes up from inside, noises of his moving brooms and boxes following.

Louis pulls out his own wand and starts to flip it in the air out of boredom. “Well you didn’t exactly say yes either.”

“I’ve always thought he was handsome,” Liam responds distractedly as he reads the labels on the boxes. “I mean look at him.”

“But…” Louis draws out impatiently.

“He’s never been with a guy before. At least not that I know of.” Before yesterday Liam thought he knew everything there was to know about Zayn, but now maybe that wasn’t the case. “He’s charmed girls throughout the years effortlessly, but no men.”

Louis switches from tossing his wand to trying to see how long he can balance it on the tip of his pointer finger. “Are you forgetting the time he practically got a boner the second we walked into that gay muggle night club in London last summer?”

“I’m aware he’s not fully straight.”

Louis tips his wand back into his palm and furrows his brow at Liam’s comment. “And neither are you, so what’s the issue?”

“I’m more outward with it. My sexuality, I mean.” Liam points his wand at a box, causing it to float down from its place and out to the grass. “He’s only ever gone out with girls. I’ve hardly ever heard him talk about men, so I never wanted to pressure him into something he didn’t seem comfortable with himself.” Popping out from the shed, he sits in front of the box to count jerseys. “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about asking him out in the past. He’d be an amazing catch. He’s smart, funny, kind…”

“We need to get you a thesaurus,” Louis says with blatant disregard to Liam’s second directed glare in the last five minutes. “Ok, so maybe he isn’t as adventurous as you, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t want to be. Maybe he just needs a push in the right direction.”

“What if he’s right?” Liam sighs at the endless outcomes if what Louis’ saying is true, before going back to his box. “ What happens if things don’t work out and we ruin what we have?”

“Then at least you can say you tried.” Louis pushes off from the wood paneling to take a seat next to the boy. “I doubt that’ll happen though. The two of you think the world of each other. You’re basically already together, just slap on a label and midnight hookups and you’re there.”

The Gryffindor’s cheeks burn red at the thought of what’s being mentioned. “We’ll see, ok? I just want to take things at his pace.”

“Push him a bit though, would you? He doesn’t have the best track record for being speedy with these sorts of things.” Leaning back on his hands, Louis relaxes at the heaviness of the conversation having finally passed. “Three years...Harry and I couldn’t last a week!”

“So you’ve mentioned once or twice.” Liam scowls, tossing a jersey at Louis’ head. “Can we keep this between us though? This whole mix-up confession thing? I don’t want it to influence what he does.”

“You think I want to lose my tongue? I’m not telling Zayn a thing,” Louis holds up his hands in surrender. “Harry and Niall on the other hand…”

“I know better than to think you would ever keep anything from Harry, no matter if I told you to or not,” Liam says begrudgingly. “And it’s just unfair if Niall’s left out at that point.”

“Glad we’re on the same page,” Louis grins triumphantly. “And Liam?” He waits until the boy locks eyes with him. “Just let it happen.”

\---

“Thwamp!”

Harry jumps at the sound that Zayn’s book makes when he slams it shut.

“Potions: done.” Pushing away the pile of papers around him, Zayn leans back in his chair.

“It’s not done until the exams are over,” Harry groans, stretching to relax himself.

Like every year, the two were the only ones that had really thought to get ahead of homework. When he had first noticed that Harry spent as much time as he did studying, Zayn wondered why he wasn’t put into Ravenclaw. The lad was original in his own right, and clearly loved to learn, but once it was clear how he treated his friends and the type of faithfulness behind it, Zayn understood how Hufflepuff had fit him.

Since they were tucked away in a corner of the library, neither bothered to really keep their voices down.

“Did something seem weird to you about Liam at dinner tonight?” Zayn asks, using the moment to take a well deserved break before he moved on to his next subject’s homework.

Thankfully Professor Vector didn’t take him away long enough to miss their six o’clock dinner call, but it sure seemed like she did by the way that Liam and Louis both acted drastically different compared to when he had left them only a half hour before; the latter trying to hide his discomfort under Zayn’s gaze the whole meal.

“He’s more stressed if that’s what you mean,” Harry offers.

“No, that wasn’t it,” Zayn shakes his head, thinking back to the many instances where he had caught Liam eyeing him as he ate. “He kept staring at me.”

The curly haired boy laughs, “shouldn’t you consider that a good thing?”

“Normally I’d say yes, but this was different. Like he knew something I didn’t.” The Ravenclaw props his head up in his hand. “Maybe I’m just thinking too much into it.”

“Considering you overthink everything, I’d say that sounds about right.” Harry leans over to rummage through his book bag, producing a flyer that he places in front of Zayn. “St. Mungo’s is holding an open day for wizards who are going to apply for the trainer healer positions at the end of the year. It’s next month.”

There’s an animated picture of nurses and doctors giving a fake tour through the halls in the center of the paper, words of what was to be included and the time and date written around it.

“Obviously you’re going,” Zayn remarks, staring at the animation until it looped itself back.

“Yeah,” Harry confirms with a sense of restlessness. “I’ve been there before, but I’ve never taken a proper tour of the whole thing. Plus it’ll be good to hear from them what they’re looking for in an applicant.”

“You’re a shoe in and you know it,” Zayn writes off. “You’re taking all the required exams and you’ll ace them no doubt. Just get Slughorn to write you a letter of recommendation, which shouldn’t be a problem considering you’re his best student, and you’ll be solid.”

Harry yawns lightly, “you’re lucky you don’t have to go through the stress of any of it. You just have to do well on exams and then live life.”

“Is that what you think independent researchers do? Live life?” Zayn can’t help but grin at how simple Harry’s making it seem.

“Well don’t you?”

Whittling down career choices was something that Zayn didn’t take lightly his fifth year. With a brain like his, he knew he could pretty much choose whatever he wanted, but having entered the wizarding world at a late age, there was still so much that he wanted to explore, and that took time. Doing his own research and coming up with original theories influenced by his unique point of view seemed like the perfect match. Not only could he work at his own pace, but he could abide by his own rules - a key component if he were to look at how muggle technology could be integrated into the wizarding world via enchantment or intertwining futuristic electronics with magic for new inventions altogether.

“Literally, sure,” Zayn replies in an amused tone, “but I’ve always gotta be up to date on whatever’s going on in my field and constantly coming up with original ideas to test and write about. It’s no saving someone’s life, but hopefully one day I can get a textbook published and make some sort of difference. Maybe teach here and leave an impression on students like Vector did with me.”

“You make it sound like she’s a saint,” Harry scoffs in disagreement. “You’re practically the only student she likes, and that’s only because you’re a genius at Arithmancy.”

“She’s not all that bad.” Zayn’s about to bring up the fact that he’s not the only one with a teacher who favours him, but his trouser pocket heats up and takes away from the moment.

“Group or Liam?” Harry asks when he sees Zayn take out two folded up index cards.

Separating them, the Ravenclaw felt each individually, concluding that the red tinted card was definitely the one that was warm from the Protean Charm. “Liam,” Zayn answers, picking up his wand from the table and performing the nonverbal Illegibilus charm.

The jumbled up letters immediately rearrange themselves to form real words and sentences, leaving Zayn with a literate note from his best friend. The two had come up with the idea during third year when Zayn was fed up with not being able to communicate with Liam immediately whenever they were apart instead of waiting for an owl to deliver him a message; a conversation that had led to Zayn’s recurrent rant about why wizards needed mobiles. Now whenever either of them had to get a hold of each other, they’d rearrange the letters to write their message and then cast the Illegibilus charm so that no one could read it if it got misplaced. When the letters were finished, the other person would feel their own index card warm up as sign that they had a new message waiting for them. Once the other boys had found out about their note system, the duo was forced to make the group their own enchanted cards that they could then use to write a message and send it to all five of them at once. Louis wasn’t about to go without one exclusively for he and Harry, so Zayn made one for the couple as well.

**_Quidditch stuff looked good. First fly around tomorrow?_ **

If Louis or Niall were there they’d be sure to ask Zayn what it had said, but Harry minded his own business, and for that reason Zayn let him in on the note anyway.

“Wants to see if tomorrow’s good to take the broomsticks out for the first time this year.”

He pieces together his response of **_‘sounds good. After breakfast?’_** and then waves his wand with another mental ‘Illegibilus’ to send it off.

“Don’t you mean the first time you’ll get to ogle over him being all athletic, doing circles around you?” Harry jokes with a brazen grin. “Shame you have to wait until November to actually see him in his uniform. ”

Zayn feels the note heat up almost instantly, revealing a short **_‘perfect’_**.

“Shame indeed,” he mumbles distantly.

\---

Flying was always something that Zayn thought he would hate with a burning passion. Having a fear of heights and being told that a broom was safe to use to zoom around on with nothing to catch you, weren’t two things that mixed very well. Looking back on his initial lessons during first year he wasn’t sure how he had managed to not seriously hurt himself from too much panic, much less pass the class. The fact that Liam had taken to flying so easily wasn’t surprising to Zayn, since it was all he could go on about the entire summer before, which included bragging about the professional Quidditch teams that he followed. So to say that Zayn hardly batted an eye at Liam making the Gryffindor team his first year would be an understatement.

Year after year Zayn had showed up to every game to cheer him on, albeit softly when he was up against Ravenclaw, but still enthusiastically nonetheless. It wasn’t until their fifth year that Zayn dared to get back on a broom, but that was only after Liam had reassured him that he had found a spell that would ensure he couldn’t fall off. Now they flew around together on the weekends when Liam didn’t have practice or a game, sometimes even before them if he did. Zayn’s place was the library, and even though Liam did study, it was clear that his comfort zone was the Quidditch pitch, so it was only fair that Zayn met him halfway with some one on one time there.

Zayn finds himself straddling the broomstick that Liam had snagged for him from the school owned batch used for first year lessons (something he’s sure isn’t allowed, but with the boy being Gryffindor’s Quidditch Captain _and_ Head Boy, who’s really going to stop him?), waiting for his friend to cast his spell.

“Epoximise!” Liam says with force, pointing his wand at the broom under Zayn’s body.

Instantly Zayn feels a bond with the wood and a layer of personal safekeeping take over. Even if something did happen, Liam was so quick in the air and strong, that Zayn knew the boy wouldn’t let him fall to his death.

“Good?”

Zayn nods at the question, getting used to the feel of the broomstick after a few months of not using one, before following Liam into the air. It’s no secret that when they go out together Liam takes it easy on him and thank god, because Zayn would be a floundering embarrassment if he had to keep up with a Quidditch chaser. The fancy broomstick that Liam’s parents bought him after getting onto the team only enhancing his natural skill set.

They fly around the stadium for a while before Liam can tell Zayn’s getting tired and lets them take a break. “Apparently scouts are coming this season,” the Gryffindor says casually as they hover in the middle of the field, but Zayn hears the hint of nerves mixed in there.

“You already knew they would,” he says casually. “You’re amazing.”

Liam shakes his head humbly, “I’m alright. I guess knowing that they might, and then actually hearing it’s confirmed are two different things. And I know I led the team last year, but being the captain on top of having to play well on my own - it’s a lot of pressure.”

“I can imagine,” Zayn comments, doing his best to sound as sympathetic as possible so Liam doesn’t think he’s being satirical. “I know I can’t do much, but if I can help you in any way you know I will.”

“I know,” the boy sends him a small smile, “but you’re already loaded up with class work and tutoring and now Elijah.”

He did have a point, but their friendship meant more to Zayn than extracurriculars. Those things were insignificant in the long run. The boy in front of him was worth much more than something he could put on his CV. “I’m always here for you Li, I’d find a way.”

Liam gives him a grateful look, “I know you would. You’ve always been that way with me and I really appreciate it.”

And this is what Zayn doesn’t want to lose. This indescribable connection that the two of them have- _have had_ from day one.

“Of course,” he nods lightly, being careful not to off balance himself in the process. “And you know, even if you don’t get any offers you’d still make an amazing wandmaker.”

Zayn always sort of supported Liam’s second career choice as a wandmaker a tad more than his first as a professional Quidditch player. It wasn’t that he had anything against Quidditch, it just seemed so fickle and impractical for the future, not to mention that it could get dangerous if you found yourself up against a particularly aggressive team. He knew that Liam could take care of himself, but that didn’t stop Zayn from thinking about how his career could end in the blink of an eye from a single injury any time that his best mate spoke of his future being on a pitch.

“Thanks.” Liam watches as the flags on top of the seating columns start to wave from the wind picking up, “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, huh?”

Zayn notes the vulnerability in his response, trying to come up with something to deflect from the negative element of it. “You’d look good in a Puddlemere United jersey though.”

Right away Liam’s mood is lifting, Zayn noting the look of intrigue at where the Ravenclaw’s going with this. It’s an interesting reaction considering he usually just says thank you and moves on.

“Oh yeah?” The wizard leans back on his broom smugly, the move and air about him making Zayn wish _he_ could be that suave fifteen meters above ground.

“Yeah,” he answers, clearing his throat in a pathetic attempt at keeping his voice steady. “I mean, you look good in your Gryffindor one now so a professional one would only make it better, right?”

Liam tilts his head to the left in fascination. “What happened to being my number one wandmaker fan?”

“I still am, it’s just, you know…” Zayn falters, dropping eye contact as he tries to redeem himself. “You’ve got the shoulders for it. For filling out a quidditch uniform, I mean.”

Looks like the initial ease of flirting with the male had just been beginners luck.

Liam’s not making fun of his stumble, nor is he acting put off, so maybe it didn’t come across as terrible as it sounded after all.

“Do they not do a good job in my robes?”

Zayn was not prepared for this: Liam flirting back. This _was_ flirting, right? Suddenly it was like all his other romantic experiences were thrown out the window and Zayn was ten all over again.

He tries to shake his head, but it’s more movement than he’s used to sitting in one spot and his broomstick starts to wobble. Zayn gets scared for a second, but Liam’s watching carefully even though he knows that the boy can’t fall.

“They always look great.” It’s a bit of a weak response, but Zayn was too busy focusing on keeping center to think up anything more witty.

“I like the way your hair falls flat when you’re too lazy to style it in the morning.”

Liam leans forward once Zayn nearly flips himself upside down at hearing the Gryffindor’s words, but the raven mumbles an “I got it” before he can get too close.

“So...you prefer it that way?” Zayn tries to ask with confidence, but it’s not all there with the way his body’s trying to stay balanced after the sudden slip up and his brain’s trying not to short circuit from Liam’s compliment.

“Sometimes,” Liam professes, gaze still trained on the other’s broom to make sure everything stayed steady. “When you have it up it makes your eyes stand out though.”

Zayn really needed to sit down. “Hmmm,” he lets out pitifully. “Well...thanks.”

Liam nods in reply, a soft smile gracing his lips, and Zayn says a silent prayer that they’re far enough away from each other that he can’t do anything stupid. “Caught your breath?”

_Never when you’re around._

“Yeah, I’m good.”

Liam takes off, looking over his shoulder to make sure that Zayn started up alright after his minor hiccups. The caring act makes Zayn’s heart swell, and reminds him why he allowed himself to be put in a position where he was gripping a broomstick for dear life.

\---

_Dean tells Zayn as much about magic as he’s willing to hear that night on the way to his flat, as well as the next morning when he makes them breakfast. It’s equally as confusing as it is exciting to learn about what he’s capable of, and the world that’s been hidden from him, but all Zayn can really think about is what happens next._

_He called his parents house numerous times that morning, but he was always met with the answering machine. When Dean’s telling him that his address has erased itself from the Hogwarts student directory, Zayn knows there’s no hearing from then again. Instead, he’s on his way to Wolverhampton, where there’s a family who had been contacted the night before and asked if they’d be willing to house Zayn for the summer in case things ended up as they had that morning. By now, Dean, or Professor Thomas rather, has explained that there are quicker magical means to get to the Payne’s, but he’d rather ease Zayn into the foreign environment with something he knows, like the National Rail. It may have taken them three hours, but he’s grateful._

_Standing outside of the house, Zayn’s suddenly petrified. The thought of being some sort of foster child was one thing, but to be tossed into a magical household the day after learning he was a wizard was starting to sink in for him. Plus, he had no idea who these people were and how they might treat him._

_He’s completely taken aback when the door opens and he’s faced with a boy his age who’s got the worst spiky haircut Zayn has even seen._

_“Liam, what did I say about opening the door!” A woman who Zayn guesses is the boy’s Mum is now standing beside him. “He’s just excited,” she’s saying, smiling at Zayn. “You must be Zayn. It’s lovely to meet you, I’m Mrs. Payne. Come in, I’ll make you boys some tea.”_

_She seems nice enough, Zayn thinks, smiling back politely. He looks to this Liam kid, giving him the same grin, though he’s sure he doesn’t look half as excited as the other does._

_“I can take your backpack,” the boy finally says enthusiastically._

_Zayn doesn’t have all that much, but he hands it over anyway to make him happy, since it seems like the boy just wants to feel needed._

_After he’s taken off his shoes at the door, Zayn starts to follow Liam into what he assumes is their front room, but he hesitates only a few steps in._

_There’s a hoover moving on it’s own in the hallway and the picture frames that are scattered around the sitting room are moving as if they were short bursts of video. Zayn nearly topples over when Dean bumps into him from behind._

_“Welcome to magic.” Zayn thinks it’s a bit late for that considering the spells the man showed him last night were more the real introduction, but he figures it’s appropriate nonetheless. “This is as magical as a house is going to get. I tend to keep mine a bit more like how we grew up,” the professor’s informing him._

_“How did you grow up?”_

_Zayn turns to look at Liam, who’s now sitting on the couch, bursting with curiosity as he waits for an answer to his question. Zayn’s backpack sits on his lap, Liam taking his job seriously and keeping it safe._

_“ **Liam** ,” his Mother’s scolding once more, but with a fond expression, clearly used to her son’s non harmful prying. Zayn doesn’t mind it, and really he doesn’t see the purpose in scolding the boy for being curious. Zayn was more than curious himself, so he liked that one of the people he was going to be living with for the next three months was too. “I briefed him on it all this morning when we got your response letter but…” She shakes her head as if to say that she’s done all that she could._

_“It’s to be expected,” Dean replies kindly to the woman before speaking to the boys. “Liam’s going to be going to Hogwarts for the first time in the Fall as well. Now the two of you won’t have to go at it alone like everyone else, you’ll already have a friend.”_

_Zayn takes a seat on the other side of the couch Liam’s on, looking over at him once more and noticing that he hasn’t stopped staring at Zayn like he’s the coolest thing on the planet since he opened the door._

_The two just stare at each other while Liam’s Mum goes to make them all tea, Dean following behind to talk about more adult things, Zayn presumes._

_“So you really don’t know anything about magic?”_

_Liam’s the first to speak, but Zayn probably could’ve guessed as much with the way he’d been fidgeting in his place, just trying to come up with the right question that didn’t come off as rude._

_Zayn shakes his head in response. “I just knew I could fix technology with my hands. I thought I was like Storm or something.”_

_“Like a weather storm?” Liam’s eyebrows bunch together dramatically as he tries to piece together what Zayn’s saying._

_“No, like Storm from X-Men.”_

_Liam just gives him this blank stare._

_Zayn thought his answer was pretty concise, but then he remembered that Dean had told him Liam was a pureblood and that he didn’t know much of anything about muggles. “Do you not know X-Men?” Nothing. “Do you not know superheroes at all?” Silence._

_Scooting to Liam’s side of the couch, Zayn opens up the bag that’s still on the boy’s lap. He’s surprised that the other isn’t tensing at how the stranger’s now in his immediate space, hardly batting an eye at the close contact. It’s kind of impressive._

_Zayn pulls out a single Spiderman comic and hands it over, putting the bag on the ground so Liam can hold the pages properly. His eyes catch sight of a newspaper on the coffee table in front of them, and he can’t help but be transfixed by the way everything moves._

_“Is this Storm?”_

_Pulled out of his thoughts, Zayn turns back to Liam and smiles at his lack of knowledge. “No, that’s Spiderman, they’re like completely different. I can’t believe you don’t know anything about comics.”_

_His words aren’t meant to make fun of Liam, not at all, Zayn’s just so surprised that a boy his age wouldn’t know of someone as iconic as Spiderman. Thankfully when he looks over at Liam’s face, he knows that the other didn’t take it harshly in the least. Liam’s so absorbed in the still image that’s the front cover, Zayn can’t imagine what he’s going to look like when he actually opens and reads the thing._

_Liam looks up, and Zayn’s met with eyes that are overflowing with sincerity, “will you teach me?”_

_And so starts the best friendship that Zayn could have ever dreamt up._

_By the afternoon Zayn’s doing his best to teach Liam how to skateboard, something that Mrs. Payne wasn’t all that excited about, but Liam had begged and Zayn pulled the ‘it was something I loved doing back home’ card and she couldn’t say no. Soon enough Liam’s crashing into a bush and asking when he can go again, and if Zayn can ‘ **do that oliver trick again!** ’ ‘ **it’s called an ollie** ’ ‘ **right, right, ollie, do that again!** ’_

_An hour later and Liam’s damn near tired himself out (something Zayn doesn’t think is possible with the way he’s been going like the energizer bunny since he arrived) going over Quidditch and how he can’t wait to get on a broomstick when they get to Hogwarts._

_Zayn meets Liam’s Dad and sisters when dinner comes along, explaining to them all about the difference between a mobile and a landline, a subject that he thinks is quite mundane but they all seem to love._

_He was able to take a moment to himself while he showered that night, but as soon as he was out, Liam was right there asking him if he could clarify video games once more. ‘ **I understand the game part, but how do you win again?** ’_

_When he’s laid in bed that night, Liam having peeked his head in a few minutes before to say goodnight before letting him be, Zayn realizes just how much talking he’s done that day. Normally he was the quiet type, always listening and assessing, but not necessarily saying too much. If Zayn’s learned anything about Liam over the past day however, it’s that if he does say something, he needs to make sure that it doesn’t diminish any of Liam’s passion or make him feel like his curiosity is anything other than acceptable; the light in his eyes deserved to stay bright._

_As an only child, he also wonders if Liam’s just abnormally chatty or if this is what it’s like to have a brother. Not that he thinks of Liam as that just yet, he’s still hoping that his parents change their mind by some miracle, but if they don’t, then this place was probably the best possible outcome he could have gotten. Even though Dean had told him that he could send him a letter if he needed anything, and that he’d be checking in with him at the end of the month, Zayn knew that Liam and Wolverhampton seemed pretty alright._

Waking up, Zayn looks over to see that he’s slept past breakfast, and even through the horrid morning rays. Thankfully it’s Sunday and he doesn’t have to be anywhere in particular, the reminder causing Zayn to sink back against his sheets in relaxation. He really should’ve guessed that having a full day with Liam was the key to switching his dreams from his worst possible memory to his best.

He spends his time waking up thinking about how the two of them spent the rest of that summer getting told off for staying up too late after one would sneak into the other’s room to read one of Zayn’s comics (only getting caught because Liam didn’t know how to keep his awe down to a whisper when Zayn revealed a pivotal character plotpoint), frequenting the local football pitch so Zayn could teach his new friend how to play the sport, and listening to Liam’s sisters tell them what Hogwarts was really like.

Reaching for his wand, Zayn ignores the heated purple card on his bedside table that was most likely warm from everyone wondering why he hadn’t been at breakfast, and picks up the red one instead.

**_Do you remember when I first tried to explain to you what a haircut was?_ **

Zayn simply waits for the familiar warmth that takes less than a minute to come.

**_I was horrified! Putting a razor to your head!? I don’t know how humans do it_ **

He smiles at the memory, about to put the note down, but there’s another message coming through.

**_You ok? You didn’t show for breakfast and Elijah said he hadn’t seen you. I was worried_ **

Just as thoughtful as the day they met.

**_I’m fine, just caught up on some sleep. I’ll see you guys for lunch._ **

Zayn puts the card and his wand back on the table.

“Everything happens for a reason,” he whispers to himself, lying back once more to get in a few more minutes of rest before having to face reality.

\---

All of them are pouring over books in the Gryffindor Common Room the next night, something that the Fat Lady admonishes as she watches Liam lead the way for his four usual non-Gryffindor visitors.

‘ _I should have known that even as Head Boy, you’re still letting your gaggle of friends in here Payne.’_

Zayn knows that she can’t be all that surprised about him, since he’s in there just as much as his own common room each school year.

After starting their second week of classes that morning, they all came to a general consensus that they should probably figure out what sort of spell to create for their Charms projects sooner rather than later. With Liam needing to be around to tend to his Head Boy duties should they be required, the group ended up picking his common room as the place to brainstorm in. So far only Harry had come up with an idea: a spell that changes the colour of the soil a plant’s potted in based on its needs. Louis’ pretty peeved.

“What about a charm for keeping your clothes clean so you never have to wash them?” Louis writes down his idea on the parchment in front of him.

“Just because it won’t have any stains on it doesn’t mean that it’s going to literally be clean,” Zayn points out, flipping through a wizarding dictionary to try and get some inspiration ever since he had found out that a spell for bonding wires like steel already existed. “You’d have to make it appear clean _and_ able to actually wash itself. It’d be double the work.” He gives Louis a knowing look. There’s no way he’d ever subject himself to that.

Louis crinkles up the paper and throws it at Niall.

“It’s just as much effort having to create the spell as it is having to look up an idea to make sure that it’s not already been done,” the blonde complains from his spot on the nearby armchair. “Why can’t we just have a book tell us if it exists or not.”

It takes a couple seconds before it clicks and Niall’s shouting “dibs!”

“Fuck!” Louis tosses his paper and quill to the ground, the ink nearly going down with it. “That was brilliant.”

Niall’s noting his idea, obviously chuffed with himself, which only causes Louis’ frustration to rise.

“Great things take time,” Harry soothes from his side.

“What about just clothes that are waterproof?” Louis tries desperately, reaching down to pick up his supplies.

Niall sticks his quill behind his ear, an action that Zayn would advise against with the fresh ink on the tip, but stays quiet about. “Your head would still get wet, so what’s the point?”

“Damn it Niall, go work on your encyclopedia spell,” the older Slytherin growls.

Zayn tunes out the small bickering that’s ensued from Louis’ dig, turning his eyes to Liam who’s sat against the wall next to him. The boy’s got his eyes closed, but Zayn can’t tell if he’s trying to focus or will himself away from the arguing, since the small swaying of his head tells the Ravenclaw that he’s not sleeping. What he does know is that he was _more_ than happy that morning when Liam had forgotten about Zayn’s promise to point out the person he was interested in.

Gently Zayn nudges Liam’s foot with his own, watching the male’s eyes snap open. “You alright?” Zayn asks softly, the two now in their own world.

Once his eyes have adjusted, Liam stares back at the boy, face scrunched up in determination. “What was the name of that song that we listened to a lot this summer?”

Zayn chuckles at the question and how utterly vague it was. “Which one? We listened to just about a hundred albums this summer.”

Their first summer together he had done his best to try and give Liam a masterclass on everything muggle related, but as the wizard got a better grasp of it all over time, Zayn started to get more specific. There was a summer where they practically lived at the local game store to see what new installments had come out and to quench Liam’s thirst for more superhero knowledge. One year they traveled a bunch using muggle transport, Liam confident in his ability to blend in enough to venture out of Wolverhampton and to other local muggle cities. But this summer the Gryffindor wanted to delve into non-magical music beyond the usual roundup of what they’d missed while at school, and it had resulted in hours upon hours of headphone sharing as they walked the streets of their town.

“The one with the piano.” Liam goes on to hum the repetitive notes quietly, but with zeal regardless.

“Clocks,” Zayn provides quickly, remembering how Liam had loved the tune so much that he seriously considered learning piano just so he could replicate the loop. “Coldplay I’m pretty sure.”

“Clocks,” Liam whispers with satisfaction, quickly penning the name down on his scratch parchment. “I always forget because he never sings it in the chorus like most songs.”

Sometimes Zayn was taken aback by how much Liam could pick out the simplest of things with such care. “Was it stuck in your head?” He asks, the song now playing in his own at the mention.

“Yeah, since this morning. I was taking a shower and it just felt right.” Liam tilts his head in thought. “Do you ever get that feeling? Where a moment just _feels_ like a song?”

Zayn does his absolute best to block out the image of Liam taking a shower and focus on the questions that he’s being asked instead. They were insightful and deserved an answer as such, but it wasn’t Zayn’s fault that he was stuck on a naked version of what’s sat next to him.

“Yeah, I get exactly what you mean,” he replies calmly.

“Maybe that’s what I’ll do my spell on,” Liam proposes, a look of excitement surfacing as his concept pieces itself together. “The perfect song being automatically chosen based on what you’re feeling. Charm a radio to pick up on your feelings.”

Zayn’s got to admit that that sounds pretty fucking cool, and if he wasn’t already proud of the air that Liam breathed, then he’d definitely be proud at the original idea. For a second he also wonders if Liam has ever felt that way with magical music from the Wizarding Wireless Network or if it’s something that Zayn’s had part in with introducing him to muggle life, but the thought passes quickly.

“I think it’s ace Li,” he commends with an encouraging smile.

The boy’s beaming at Zayn’s response, writing down his thoughts immediately so that they don’t leave him. It sounds like an ambitious spell having to combine mental components that are unique for each person and then getting the translation right with a massive music catalog, but Zayn could tell that Liam was already too passionate about it to let hard work get in the way.

All at once it gives Zayn his own idea. “What if I created a spell that made it so that you could listen to music while you’re here?” Liam’s now giving him his full attention, hanging onto his every word to see what Zayn’s got up his sleeve. “It could create an invisible barrier around a non-magical device and have it work in a magical environment.”

Liam’s eyebrows raise in pure elation at the thought, “we could bring your iPod here!”

“Oi, did one of you come up with a music spell?”

The other three turn to look at the two of them on the floor once Niall asks his question. “Zayn’s going to make it so that we can use non-magical things without interference,” Liam says for him.

Always wants to brag about him, Liam does. The fact that he uses the word non-magical instead of muggle just a testament to how sensitive and accepting he is with Zayn’s status.

_‘The term muggle’s got an unnecessary negative connotation. It’s non-magical and that’s all there is to it.’_

There were many, but Zayn likes to think that that was one moment where he realized Liam could be more than just a best friend.

“No shit...” Louis comments, interest piqued by what his friend’s come up with.

“Yeah, but it’s nothing compared to Liam’s spell to get the radio to play a song based on how you’re feeling.” Zayn glances at Liam, nudging his shoulder against the other’s in support.

Louis comes back from zoning out trying to think up what muggle things he’d bring into the castle if he could, face screwed up in disgust. “Alright, Flitwick didn’t say you had to be all complementary and shit.”

“Man it’s too bad you guys couldn’t do both for my birthday on Friday,” Niall wishes as he tilts his head back against the seat. “That’d make for sick party music.”

“Or for our anniversary,” Harry thinks aloud, earning a scowl from everyone but Louis. “Or for Niall’s birthday on Friday,” he corrects with a mumble.

“Our anniversary will be even better without their muggle music,” Louis assures the boy tangled up on the couch with him. “Speaking of Niall’s birthday, my sources say that the booze will be ready.”

How Louis gets the alcohol in the school, Zayn doesn’t want to know, but it’s been a tradition for Niall and Harry’s birthday to wind up drunk by the end of the night. He’s grateful that Louis’ birthday lands on Christmas holidays because he could only imagine what he’d want to have for that. Zayn’s not much of a drinker, so he opts out of drinking from his own birthday bottle (that’s really more _for_ Louis than from him) each year. Selfishly he’s glad that Liam’s falls outside of the school year so they can celebrate just the two of them.

“Cheers mate,” Niall thanks, a mischievous glint coming to his eyes. “Gives us something to look forward to since it’s only Monday.”

“I’ve got it!” Louis sits up further, “a spell that disguises alcohol to taste like a sweet drink if it gets checked for contraband!”

“I’d like to see you give a straight faced proposal on that in front of a seasoned professor,” Zayn sneers.

“What’s the worst that happens?” Louis argues, writing down the idea and underlining it several times for emphasis. “They can’t kick me out.”

Zayn thinks that maybe they could, for trying to purposefully circumvent the rules, but he stays quiet and watches affectionately as Liam scribbles possible elements for his own spell manically.

\---

“Uh, Zayn?”

Niall’s sigh of relief is audible when Elijah’s butting in during another one of Harry’s never ending stories the next day at lunch.

The boy’s got an uneasy look and Zayn’s immediately concerned because so far Elijah had seemed to be doing good with his confident ‘fake it till I make it’ mentality.

“Yeah, you ok?” The fact that he doesn’t get an answer right away makes Zayn even more worried.

Elijah looks at the others staring back at him before answering. “I need your help.” Zayn’s about to get up so they can go somewhere more private, but the boy stops him before he can. “No, it’s ok. I mean, you guys can all chime in.” The young Ravenclaw rubs the back of his neck nervously, looking at the Slytherin’s on the other side of Louis and Niall to make sure that they weren’t listening in. “What’s a good comeback for mudblood?”

Zayn’s seeing red, but it’s Liam who’s speaking up first, voice laced with his own rage, “who called you that?”

Elijah’s eyes shift to Louis quickly and then back again to Liam. “It was no one important, I just looked sort of like an idiot because I didn’t have anything to fight back with.”

“Was it a Slytherin?” Louis demands, expression hardened by the thought of someone from his house being responsible for such a deplorable insult.

The way Elijah didn’t answer immediately made Zayn understand why he seemed worried to say anything in front of his Slytherin friends.

“Point them out, I’ll take care of it myself.” Now it’s Louis turn to start to get up, but Elijah’s quick to speak again.

“No, no, really, it’s ok,” the boy rushes, eyes widening at the thought of Louis causing a scene. “I just want to be prepared for next time. The moment’s gone now, you know?”

Louis doesn’t seem to care about what Elijah wants. “No, if someone called you that then they need to pay for it. I don’t care if they’re in my house or not.”

“Yeah, they’re not gonna get off that easy,” Niall adds protectively, his features matching Louis’. “Especially not when they’re messing with one of our own.”

There’s a flash of surprise and pride at being labeled as part of their group, but Elijah doesn’t think now’s the time to acknowledge the sentiment. “I appreciate it, but I don’t want to start some back and forth thing,” he replies.

Louis waves a hand at him, “don’t worry about that. Once we’re done with them, they’ll be way too scared to mess with you again.”

Elijah looks to Zayn for some sort of confirmation.

“You can tell me their names later, ok? For now just…” Zayn sighs, “I’ll teach you a few spells to get back at them with if it happens with someone else, yeah?

Elijah nods in agreement, relieved that the threat of attention being brought onto him was now gone. “Thanks.”

Zayn’s so beside himself that he doesn’t even acknowledge Elijah, just watches as he walks back to the Ravenclaw table.

“We do our best to make sure that the house doesn’t get a bad rep and then idiots like that come along and we’ve got to start from scratch.” Niall’s craning his neck to look down the table to try and pinpoint who the culprits were. “They’re the reason why we can never shake the evil label.”

The boy’s cross and Zayn doesn’t blame him, he knows how the blonde hates always having to defend his house every time someone questions how _he_ got put into _Slytherin_. Louis, sure, but Niall? It just wasn’t the most obvious choice. But Zayn saw it, he did. Was Niall caring and compassionate? Of course. But did he avoid conflict and let people take advantage of his loyalty? Not a chance. The more Zayn got to know him, the more he realized that his Hufflepuff traits were overshadowed by the intensity behind his need to stand up for what he believed in and righting what he saw as wrong. If you messed with someone he knew, you better watch out.

“Sorry Zayn,” Harry’s voice is genuine, but passionate with protectiveness all the same.

And it’s not so much that Harry’s saying he’s sorry to Zayn about Elijah in particular, although he is, it’s more the fact that someone who shares the Ravenclaw’s status is still getting ridiculed after living in such a progressive time.

The two share a meaningful look before Louis chimes in once more. “You know, how is it that we never get called out for being a group with mixed sexualities, but a harmless first year does for something you can’t even see?”

Louis’ got a good point, but Zayn’s had to deal with being even more of a minority throughout the years than any of the other four, that he’s not a stranger to the fear of the unknown. Being a first generation Pakistani Muslim who was bi-sexual seemed to come with quite a bit of hardships growing up, adding muggleborn to the list was just the cherry on top. Thank god he was book smart with a sharp mind to make up for it all.

“We’ll come up with something good,” Harry promises before going back to his food.

“If Liam’s got anything to do with it, whoever it was will end up with a black eye at the very least.”

Liam’s cheeks go a light shade of red at Niall’s words, as do Zayn’s at the memory of the Gryffindor standing up for him the first time he was ever called a mudblood. There was no way that either of them could forget. Not only was it his first real instance of being humiliated at the castle, but it was also the first time Zayn had ever seen Liam be violent.

“Nah, Liam’s reckless days were over once he put on that Head Boy patch,” Louis mourns, taking a quick drink of his pumpkin juice. “Hey, since I didn’t get to use the sticky hex on Liam, I can use it on this kid!”

Liam looks to Louis, both shocked and offended. “You were going to hex me?”

“Liam, shhh…”

\---

_“You know there’s a spell for that,” Liam points out as he waits for his friend to finish his knot._

_“It takes me two seconds, I don’t need a spell.” Zayn stands up swiftly, smug expression on his face. “See? Done.”_

_They continue down an outside corridor, students scattered about. Just as they’re about to pass a group of Slytherin’s around their age, Zayn’s robes become soaked._

_He looks to his right and notices a group of boys snickering, a brick being dropped into a dirty puddle nearby clearly the reason he’s dripping wet ._

_“Now you can match your name, mudblood!” One of them yells without shame, the rest of his friends laughing along in unison._

_The insult earns them a glare from Zayn, who was only aware of the derogatory name from Liam’s parents’ speech that summer on the perils of Hogwarts and being who he was._

_Liam was in front of the boy before Zayn even had a chance to hold him back._

_At the sight of the Gryffindor coming to the rescue, the leader of the group smirks. “You want to match with your Ravenclaw, bloodtraitor?”_

_In a second flat the boy was knocked off the wall he was perched on, clutching his face from where Liam had punched him._

_Perhaps that’s not exactly what Liam’s parents had in mind when they told him to look out for Zayn._

_“Run!” Liam shouts once he realizes what he’s done, taking off down the corridor and looking behind him to make sure the male was following._

_Zayn didn’t need to be told twice. He does his best trying to keep up with Liam as they bolted as fast and as far as they could, taking twists and turns until they were trapped at a dead end._

_With their backs against the corner, Zayn tries to think up some sort of spell to get them out of here, but they had only been in school for a few weeks, and he knows he’ll need something far more advanced than what had been taught so far._

_“They’re gonna kill us!” Zayn whispers loudly, too afraid that if he speaks up any more than that he’d give away their location._

_“I’ll protect us, it’s ok.” Liam’s got one of his feet positioned in front of Zayn’s so as to give some leverage in case he needs to shield his best friend from anything._

_“I think they went this way!”_

_Zayn closes his eyes and wishes that he was anywhere but there; wishes they were in Liam’s backyard, safe from prejudice and where they could just be themselves._

_A cold shiver goes through his body and before he realizes what’s happening, he’s falling backwards, Liam collapsing on top of him._

_Once the younger boy’s off of him Zayn looks around and notices that they’re no longer bunched up in the hallway, but rather in an abandoned room._

_“Where are we?” Zayn stands and dusts himself off, robes filthy now that the dust from the floor has mixed in with the puddle water._

_“I don’t know,” Liam says in bewilderment, staring at their surroundings. “Did you cast a spell?”_

_“No,” Zayn replies instantly, forgoing trying to clean himself up any more since it was a lost cause. “I just kept wishing we were at your house. Then my body got all cold and I fell.”_

_The more he takes in the room, the more it becomes apparent that no one had been in there for ages. It was pretty bare compared to most of the rooms that Zayn had come across at Hogwarts so far. There were bookshelves, a fireplace, and a few chairs around a large table that was centered in the room; it almost seemed like it could have been a classroom in a past life._

_“My sisters always use to tell me there were secret passageways and rooms in the castle. Do you think this is one of them?” Liam asks, sticking his head into the fireplace cautiously to see if it was real._

_“Maybe, but what if it’s forbidden and we’re not meant to be here?” Zayn wanders around cautiously, his wand at the ready in case anything popped out._

_“I guess we’ll find out if we leave and get detention for it,” Liam responds, his voice echoing from the brick chimney._

_Zayn starts to panic when he realizes that if he doesn’t know how they got here, how are they going to get out? Turning around he sees a regular door, praying that it leads somewhere he knows._

_He’s got his wand out as he approaches it, close footsteps telling him that Liam’s got his back nearby. Placing his fingers around the handle, Zayn debates on whether or not to just throw it open or slowly peak out. When the first few centimeters don’t reveal anything harmful, he opens it wider and notices that he’s met with the same hallway they had just been stuck in moments ago. Quickly, Zayn shuts it once more so no one can tell they’re there._

_“This must be what’s on the other side of the dead end wall,” he guesses, putting his wand back in his robe pocket now that no signs of danger are present. “The entrance is just through the corner of the corridor and not straight forward.”_

_“Wicked,” Liam says in amazement, a huge smile forming at their discovery. “Wait until the others hear of this.”_

_Zayn looks at the Gryffindor with apprehension, “maybe we should wait until we find out if it’s off limits before we say anything. Should probably make sure we know what the key to getting in is too.”_

_“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Liam confers, but his smile barely falters; he’s far too thrilled to have found something secret so early on in their schooling._

_Now that they’re safe, Zayn eyes the other’s right fist. “You really didn’t have to hit that guy you know.”_

_Looking over, Liam sees what he’s staring at and flexes his fingers. “I wasn’t going to, but then he said what he did and I couldn’t just stand there.”_

_Zayn can’t deny that the way Liam’s eyes shone of determination from his repulsion at the discriminatory act made him feel protected, but he didn’t want the boy thinking he condoned violence. “You could get in serious trouble for it.”_

_“Don’t care,” Liam snarls. “He deserved it.”_

_It goes without saying that he’s proud of Liam’s careless bravery, but Zayn’s more hung up on the fact that he didn’t use a spell. Pureblood, magic’s-the-best-thing-on-the-planet Liam, had chosen a fist over his wand, and Zayn can’t tell if it was just a spur of the moment thing that turned out to be ironic because of what, and who, he was standing up for, or if it’s because he’s starting to learn from his best friend that you can be magical and not center your world around your subsequent abilities. Zayn chooses to think that it’s the latter, and he’s more proud of that than any tormenting spell Liam could have ever cast._

\---

Six years later and he’s doing his part in helping set up for the all important anniversary in the same room he and Liam had discovered those first few weeks, the memory still vivid in his mind from his dream the night before.

“A bit more to the left,” Liam instructs.

Zayn moves his wand in the direction that he’s told, watching as the **Happy 6 Years!** banner moves with it.

Liam nods, “I think that’s good.”

“Remind me again how we got roped into doing this alone?” Niall questions while throwing himself onto a huge floor pillow that they had brought in, amid other personal touches, years prior. “It’s not even our anniversary. At least last year Louis helped. What are we getting out of this?”

“Friendship?” Zayn guesses as he looks around to see what else needed to be done. “I think we’re finished anyway.”

“Did you hear Louis got him some fancy new peacock quill that just came on the market? Says it’s like he’ll be with him every time he’s studying,” Niall shares, putting his hands behind his head. “Might have to steal that one one day.”

“It’s actually pretty thoughtful,” Liam agrees, taking a seat at the table once he’s no longer needed to give directions.

Zayn shrugs with jealousy, “it’s alright I guess.” Hearing Liam say the same thing about Louis’ gift as he said about Zayn’s for his birthday, wasn’t the best feeling in the world.

It had taken him several weeks to finish the hand painted superhero skateboard deck, and a countless number of arguments trying to convince Liam to stay out of the garage _‘because I’m working on something for you. That’s why!’_ , Liam always succumbing to the demands and padding back into the house to _‘do something cool without you then’_. The look on his face when Zayn presented him with the board, telling him to close his eyes because wrapping a skateboard was pointless with its shape being a dead giveaway, was why the older of the two had worked himself to the bone getting things just right. _‘After five summers you’re getting good, so I thought you deserved a board as unique as you.’_ He accepted the profusely given ‘thank you’s’, but Zayn was content with Liam’s look of astonishment as thank you enough - an expression that stemmed from disbelief that someone could create something so cool, and that Zayn had been that someone - had done it for him.

“Don’t be bitter that you don’t have anyone to romance,” Niall mocks, his smile showing it’s all in good fun.

Before Zayn bites back with a _shut up, I’m working on it_ , Liam’s already speaking. “What would you get this crush of yours then? You know, if things go well and you end up with an anniversary.”

There was a second when Harry had disclosed his own gift of an exclusive code breaker book for Louis that Zayn had thought of what he might get Liam for the same occasion. Tons of quidditch things came to mind, but Liam’s family was relatively well off, so getting him something that could be bought was out of the question.

“Dunno,” Zayn plays off nonchalantly, running a hand through his quiff that he was growing out to make sure it kept its shape. “Maybe a personalized playlist or something.”

Liam grins at Zayn’s suggestion, but he stays quiet.

“Why are you guys always coming up with music shit? Isn’t that supposed to be _my_ territory?” Niall closes his eyes in relaxation, not as terribly bothered with the idea as he makes out to be.

“Wizarding music?” Liam inquires further, completely ignoring his other friend and keeping his eyes trained on Zayn.

“Maybe. Depends on what they like.” Zayn leans up against a pillar in the room doing his damn best to keep charming. “Could be songs that make me think of them,” the Gryffindor’s eyes brighten, “or maybe just songs that make them feel something.” Liam’s smile reaches his ears.

“I promise you’re going to love it.”

Another moment ruined.

The three of them scramble from their spots to get to the door when they hear Harry’s voice in the outside corridor.

“I’m going to love anything you do for me,” Louis replies, tone a type of sweet that’s reserved for his boyfriend.

Zayn times their exit through the door to be right as the other two are disappearing into the room.

\---

“You’re sure this is going to work?” Liam asks with an uneasy tone to his voice.

“Your fingerprints are on it, so it’s a bit late to back out now Head Boy,” Louis teases with a wicked smirk.

Zayn can practically feel Liam’s heart race at the truth to Louis words. Now that he had real responsibilities beyond the quidditch pitch, Liam had reason to be a lot more on edge with their antics. With none of them having classes that afternoon, they had all agreed that it was the best time to get back at Elijah’s hasslers. Zayn had told Liam that he didn’t have to join them if he was nervous, that he had helped in the planning enough, but the male was adamant on being a part of getting justice for something he was so close to.

“Alright, I think I see Niall coming,” Louis says excitedly, crouching down in anticipation. “Zayn, on my mark.”

Liam holds the Weasley’s Wildfire Whiz-Bangs in place, ready for Zayn to ignite them.

“Ok, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”

“Incendio,” Zayn says softly, the small flame lighting the ends of the two firecrackers and sending them flying to the center of the courtyard where Niall’s drawn the three Slytherin’s out to.

They watch as the first colours explode into the air, gathering everyone’s attention, including those that are in the nearby corridors of the castle. Niall stands back from the boys who are now stood in the middle of the grass, a small crowd starting to gather under the overhang as the second firework goes off and words appear

**_Heard you have a problem with muggleborns_ **

**_Well now you can have a big head and ugly face_ **

**_to match your personality_ **

It’s evident that everyone’s confused once the words start to fade, the feelings minimal in comparison to how perplexed they would have been if Louis had kept in the ‘say hello to my little friends’ that he so desperately wanted to include, but Zayn refused to allow. _‘you’ll be lucky if one person’s seen The Godfather in the crowd to get the reference.’ ‘yes Zayn, that’s the point of why I have you teach me the references in the first place’ ‘just take it out’_

Zayn watches as Harry’s two shrunken potion bottles are now being enlarged on the roof of the overhang.

“Wingardium Leviosa.” Louis discreetly points his wand at one of the bottles, moving it so that it was directly above the three Slytherins, and then tipping the contents out onto their heads.

Instantly fungus starts to spread all over the boys’ face, gasps and laughter filling the air from the students who are witnessing it happen.

It’s only a few seconds later when Zayn sees that Harry’s moving the second bottle and doing the same. This time the liquid causes the boys’ heads to swell to four times their normal size, and the crowd goes nuts.

Louis uses his wand to toss his bottle back up onto the roof. “Evanesco,” and his bottle’s gone, Harry’s following the same pattern right after. “Pays to have a boyfriend who’s a genius at potions,” he boasts. “I’d like to see them try and kick me out for that.”

Zayn would hardly call being able to come up with the Fungiface Potion and Swelling Solution works of a genius, and there was that time first year when he was way out of his league trying to create a bundimun pomade that dyed Niall’s hair blonde instead, but Harry _was_ extremely talented at Potions as a whole, so he let Louis have that. The wizard’s just lucky Niall ended up liking the splash of colour, otherwise he didn’t want to know what he would have done to get back at him.

Looking into the crowd, Zayn spots Elijah smirking triumphantly at the three who are struggling to stand from the weight of their heads. A few students who had cameras were taking pictures, more than happy that they were there to capture the moment. Both Ravenclaw’s catch eyes from across the courtyard.

Zayn sends Elijah a sly wink; _it took us two days, but we didn’t forget._

\---

The first thing that Zayn does when he wakes up the next morning is send Niall a Happy Birthday message on their group index card. By the looks of things he’s the first, but when he checks his watch he realizes that it’s probably because he’s up twenty minutes earlier than usual to be able to wrap his friend’s gift.

When he and Liam had gone to the shopping complex in Wolverhampton city centre (one that Zayn had dragged a very excited, yet petrified Liam to practically every day their first summer together in order to teach him more hands on muggle things) to each find Niall something that summer, Zayn instantly found himself drifting into the Waterstones. While he was the heavy reader of the group, Zayn knew that the one way that Niall could learn about muggle things without having him around was to read. It’s how he ended up leaving with _Bloody business: An anecdotal history of Scotland Yard_ , a perfect find for the aspiring Magical Law Enforcement Patrol member.

Even though he and Harry have the first class of the day at 11:30, Zayn still makes it to breakfast, gift in tow. He notices that it’s just Niall and Liam, the other two probably off somewhere Zayn would rather not know about.

“Happy Birthday mate,” Zayn smiles, handing over the carefully wrapped present as he takes a seat.

“Thanks Zed,” Niall replies cheerfully. It barely takes him ten seconds before he’s ripping open the paper, and Zayn’s grateful that he didn’t think to draw a few doodles on it like he had for Liam’s gifts if it was just going to get destroyed in the blink of an eye. “Sick!” The blonde flips over the book to read the synopsis, well aware from many conversations with Zayn on muggle public services of what Scotland Yard was and not needing to ask. “Thanks again.”

“It’s no problem,” Zayn replies, looking at the other mountain of discarded wrapping paper to the boy’s left. “Did you like Liam’s guitar strap?”

It’s clear by the way he’s wearing it like a scarf what the answer is, but Zayn thought he’d indulge his friend anyway. Turns out it sparks a fire in Niall, the entire breakfast conversation domineered by his musical opinions; Zayn thinks it’s a nice change of pace from their usual discussions. It’s his birthday, sure, but Zayn’s more than happy to let Niall go on without any interruptions or subject changes from Louis. With the way he and Liam catch eyes every once and awhile, he knows that his best friend agrees with what he’s thinking. It doesn’t hurt that Niall’s so caught up in his rant that Zayn’s eyes get to linger on the chocolate irises a second longer than necessary, usual snide comments on it nowhere to be found.

Eventually they make it out of the Hall and go on with their day, Harry meeting up with Zayn in Transfiguration like he figured he would, eager to show off his new quill like it was the greatest thing in the world. Jokes aside, Zayn’s glad that his close friend has someone like Louis to speak so tenderly about.

They finish dinner that night faster than usual so that the chances of being seen transporting into their secret room are lowered with most people already in the Great Hall.

Right off the bat Zayn notices the banner that read **Happy 6 Years!** a couple nights before now reads **Happy Birthday Niall!** , a few leftover decorations that weren’t love related still hanging up too.

“Alright, who’s ready to drink to the birthday boy?” Louis hollers, pulling out a small bottle with bones decorating the outside of the glass.

“That’s it?” Niall complains once he sees how minuscule the container is compared to what Louis usually gets.

Zayn’s more concerned by the ornaments, “are you sure that’s not poison?

“Relax, both of you,” Louis dismisses. “It’s not a lot, but I tried it over summer and trust me, it’s all we need. This stuff is strong.”

“How strong?” Niall asks curiously, motioning for his fellow Slytherin to pass it over for him to do a proper assessment.

Louis smirks in arrogance, handing over the bottle. “Why don’t you do the honours birthday boy?”

They all watch as Niall takes the first swig, eyes screwing shut at the pungent taste. “Shit, he’s not kidding.”

Coming from Niall, Zayn knows that means something. Louis’ next, then Harry, before the bottle’s handled over to him.

Before he even thinks to take a drink Zayn smells the contents first, his face twisting at the scent. “Nah I’m good,” he says, nearly coughing as he twists the lid back on.

Louis rolls his eyes, “aw come on Zayn, do it for little Nialler here.”

Zayn passes him back the bottle, “I was the first to wish him Happy Birthday, got him a gift, and I’m here. I think I’ve done my part without the absinthe.”

“What’s absinthe?” Niall wonders aloud, reaching for the drink once more.

Zayn points to the bottle, “basically that.”

“Wanker,” Louis writes off, handing the bottle to Liam instead of letting Niall snag it. “Liam go on then, show him what real friends do.”

Liam only drinks occasionally, so when he takes a quick shot, Zayn isn’t surprised when he starts to cough afterwards. “You weren’t kidding, that _is_ strong,” the Gryffindor manages to get out, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Louis takes back the drink. “Alright, now that we’ve established that I have taste...” Zayn scoffs at the words. “Who’s up for a little truth or dare?”

Now he’s really laughing, “what? Did Niall just turn thirteen?”

Louis squints at him in annoyance, “you can leave if you’re going to continuously put a damper on this party Mr. I-like-to-be-in-control-of-my-body. Liam,” he says in a bored tone, “please talk to him.”

While the others get settled, Liam leans over into Zayn’s space. “It’ll be fun. I can’t stay for that long anyway, just in case something happens.” He points to the badge on his robe signifying his responsibilities, “so it won’t get too crazy.”

Taking his seat on the floor, Zayn sees that he’s outnumbered. “Ok fine,” he grumbles. “I’m in.”

Except Liam’s wrong. Things get _wild_.

Fifteen minutes into the game and Zayn swears they’re going to get caught by nearly igniting the place on fire when Harry dares Niall to conjour up an image of a dragon out of flames. Thank god they confirmed the place was soundproof early on in its days of usage.

Somewhere in the middle of Louis getting naked and a very tipsy Liam trying to do a handstand, Zayn took a sip of the poison just to see how strong the thing really was and holy shit, maybe this really was absinthe.

“Alright Zayn, truth or dare?”

They’ve all rotated a fair amount, but this was the first time that Zayn was being asked by Liam, and he could tell that the other three were holding their breath with this one.

“Truth,” he replies, too scared that with Liam’s current state of mind, a dare could get messy.

“Have you ever kissed a boy?”

How quickly Liam asked the question was a bit troubling, but Zayn was far too embarrassed to be focused on that.

“The truth Zayn!” Louis calls out from underneath where Harry’s laid on top of him.

“No.” He’s not sure why it’s so odd to admit in front of his four best mates, but it is. Maybe it’s because it makes him sound incredibly inexperienced at the age of seventeen, but in his defense, he’s kissed plenty of girls.

Liam stares at him with eyes that are both bloodshot and incredibly curious for more. “Why not?”

“Liam with the double ask!” Niall exclaims in a fit of laughter, Louis and Harry following suit and it’s all Zayn needs to hear to know it’s time for him to leave.

“Alright, we’re done. Come on,” Zayn collects himself and stands, looking down at a now very drunk Liam, “you’ve had enough. I’m sure Olivia’s looking for you.”

At the sound of the Head Girl’s name Liam sighs, knowing Zayn’s right but hating him for it. “I’ll go if you answer me,” but he’s already getting up anyway.

“You’ll go because I’m going to help make sure you get back to your dorm without getting fired for being drunk,” Zayn dictates. He watches Liam stand up, impressed that he can actual do so on his own. “Guys, it was fun, but try not to kill yourselves without me here.”

“Alright Professor,” Harry jokes, earning him a proud look from Louis.

“Happy birthday Niall,” Zayn adds, Liam copying him right after.

“Thanks,” the boy replies with a goofy smile. “And thanks again for the gifts!”

Zayn gives him his own smile in return, walking over to the door and peaking out to make sure no one would see him and Liam exit.

“How come ya won’t answer me?” Liam asks once they’re back in the corridor, Zayn staying close by his side in case he stumbles or sways too far one way and needs straightening out.

“Why do you want to know so badly?” Zayn wonders.

Liam shrugs, almost causing him to tip over, but Zayn’s steadying him before it’s too late. “Just curious I guess.”

They’re about to pass the stairs that would take them up to the fifth floor Ravenclaw Tower entrance when a thought comes to Zayn’s mind. “Is Olivia on duty for the whole night?”

Liam’s overly stumped as to why they’ve stopped, “yeah, why?”

“There’s no way the Fat Lady’s gonna let you say the password with me standing there, and the second she sees how red your eyes are she’s gonna flip. You’ll have to stay at mine.” Zayn starts to direct the two of them up the first of many stairs.

“Do you know how drunk I am?” Liam asks as he does his best to focus on using his weight to help get him up the steps.

Zayn chuckles, “I’m very aware.”

“How am I gonna get up seven flights of stairs?” The male questions, taking a break to lean against the wall. “You’re not very strong.”

“Overlooking the obvious, yet still hurtful insult,” the older boy huffs, pushing Liam to keep going. “The Gryffindor common rooms are on the seventh floor too, our stairs just _look_ more daunting. Now come on and let’s get this over with.”

Liam does his best to keep up a steady pace. “So why haven’t you kissed one?”

“You’re really heavy, you know that?” Zayn replies, genuinely meaning what he says, not just saying it to try and divert the conversation away from his lack of experience with men.

Liam turns his head towards Zayn with a cocky smile. “Thought you liked my wide shoulders?”

The Ravenclaw grits his teeth at Liam’s flirting, wishing that not only was he sober so they could be sleeping by now, but also so that he would know better than to use Zayn’s confessions against him. “I do, but that doesn’t mean that they’re any lighter than they should be at this moment in time. Why’d you drink so much anyway? That’s not like you.”

“End of the second week. Things are only gonna get more busy from now on,” the Gryffindor explains. “Thought I should be reckless one last time.”

And he’s probably right, so Zayn doesn’t fault him too much. In fact, he’s kicking himself that he didn’t use up one of his bi-annual drinking occasions tonight now that he’s heard that reasoning.

“So why haven’t you kissed a boy yet?”

“You’re a persistent drunk tonight aren’t you?”

“Just answer and I wouldn't have to be.”

Zayn sighs and relents because he doubts Liam will even remember this all in the morning anyway, “suppose the right one just hasn’t come along yet.” The _only_ one is wobbling next to me. “Now shut up. Talking slows you down.”

Satisfied with an answer at all, Liam does as he’s told, the two making it to the Tower entrance and up the last two flights of stairs in peace.

**_The more you take, the less you leave behind_ **

“I don’t know how you guys answer these every day,” Liam tries to whisper in his ear once they’re in front of the Eagle Knocker, but the words come out far from the volume a whisper should be.

“I told you to be quiet,” Zayn _actually_ whispers back, thinking about the riddle being given to him and answering a few moments later. “Footsteps.”

Helping his friend into the common room once the eagle unlocks the door at his correct answer, Zayn’s grateful that Liam’s no stranger to the circular space and is therefore able to make his own way to the final few stairs of the night that will lead to the boy’s dorms. A few students are still awake, reading or talking quietly amongst themselves, but they hardly give the two a second glance since neither one of them were disturbing the peace.

Once they’re entering Zayn’s room, Teddy’s turning in his desk chair to see who it was, eyebrows raised at the scene in front of him.

“Payne?” He says in surprise, looking to Zayn for answers. “Malik is he-”

“Drunk? Yes, and don’t even think about trying to get him to reveal any quidditch plays while he’s like this either. He’s just here to sleep it off and not get caught.” Zayn’s leaving Liam to sway his way to bed while he goes to his wardrobe to fetch them both things to sleep in.

“Reed, it’s good to see you,” Liam nods politely, though it’s a bit over dramatic and not at all serious with the way he’s laughing at himself shortly after.

Zayn shakes his head at the sound, picking out some shirts and pajama bottoms for them before turning back. “Or not…”

Liam’s already taken his Gryffindor robe off and is now pulling his jumper over his head.

“Would you look at that Zayn, Payne here plans to sleep naked with you tonight. How do you feel about that?” Teddy’s now leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest, enjoying every second of what’s playing out before him, including Zayn’s fresh horror.

“Not naked, jus like to sleep in me boxers,” Liam corrects him, on to shucking off his trousers next.

It’s not as if Zayn hasn’t seen Liam in his boxers before, it’s practically impossible not to when you live under the same roof for as long as they have, but it’s been a while, and none of those instances involved the two of them sharing a bed for the night, so he feels like his daze is warranted.

“I uh…” Zayn turns to his roommate flustered, pointing to the figure on his bed. “Watch him, will you?”

“Gonna rub one out real quick?” Teddy says unapologetically, taking every opportunity that presented itself.

Zayn’s head snaps over to Liam, the sight allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief; he’s too busy focusing on setting his things on the side table to pay attention to the other Ravenclaws.

“I’m gonna change and take a leak.” Zayn finally responds, grabbing the clothes he had taken out and narrowing his eyes at Teddy. “Just watch him.”

Before entering the hallway, Zayn looks behind him to make sure that Liam’s still in one piece, moving on to the wash rooms to splash cold water over his face once he sees the boy’s just fine.

“He passed out as soon as you left,” Teddy informs him when he pads into the room five minutes later. “What were you guys up to anyway?”

“Niall’s birthday,” Zayn replies, tossing his day’s clothes in the hamper. “Even though you live to humiliate me, thanks for keeping an eye on him.”

The male smiles, “don’t mention it, I know you would do the same for me. Besides being your prince charming, Payne’s a good guy, I don’t mind.” Teddy motions to the books dispersed over his desk, “I’m gonna keep working for a bit more though, so let me know if the light’s too much.”

“You’re good,” Zayn responds, grateful that the other two of their roommates are somewhere else and not adding to the present one’s commentary.

Staring at Liam in his bed, Zayn tries to think up the best way to go about this. Pulling up the duvet Zayn can’t help but stare at the tone body that’s been revealed.

“I hate myself,” he mumbles, sinking into the small space that Liam’s left for him and feeling the heavy weight shift to accommodate the new body that’s joined it. The fact that even asleep and drunk Liam’s as considerate as he is has Zayn thinking that he should have just propelled him into the fire instead of offer up his sleeping quarters.

Zayn does his best to relax and lower his creeping anxiety, the thought of turning and throwing an arm around Liam’s waist popping into his mind, but he wills it away after not being able to justify that it was _only_ for space saving reasons and nothing selfish.

It looks like Liam has other ideas though, because just when Zayn thinks he’s about to drift off, he feels the body next to him fip onto its stomach and spread an arm over Zayn’s torso lazily. Instead of the expectant sensation of panic, Zayn simply drowns in the warmth and falls asleep.

\---

When he rouses Zayn isn’t quite sure what time it is, but by the way the sun’s shining he can guess that it’s past his normal wake up hour of eight. Naturally he panics that he’s missed class, but soon realizes that it’s Saturday and that there’s nothing pressing that he needs to attend to. It then sinks in that he’s alone and hey, wasn’t there a body here with him last night? Not just any body either.

Peering over the side of the bed Zayn sees that Liam’s discarded clothes are gone. He blindly reaches over for his wand and index cards, checking any messages he might have. The groups’ got nothing, which Zayn could have guessed, but Liam’s is warm.

**_Had a prefect meeting this morning, hope I didn’t wake you. Thanks for letting me crash with you_ **

Zayn looks at his clock: **10:25**.

 _Wonder what you look like for that meeting_ , Zayn thinks amusingly. _Probably still amazing._

The rest of the room is vacant and Zayn wonders how many people, if any, saw Liam leave that morning. Even _he’s_ surprised that he was in such a deep sleep that he didn’t at least stir, especially given that the past couple weeks have been hit and miss with well rested nights thanks to reopening past wounds from Elijah.

 _Just a few more minutes_ , he thinks, setting his things back down on the side table and closing his eyes once more.

By the time lunch rolls around Zayn’s feeling as refreshed as ever, but he can’t say the same for the other four that are slouched over their edge of the Slytherin table.

“Good to see you all survived,” he greets pleasantly, a conceited closed mouth smile on his lips.

Everyone but Liam squints at him, whether it’s their current version of a dirty look or genuinely because they can’t open their eyes all the way, Zayn isn’t sure.

“So you’re not mad at me?” Liam asks timidly, his gaze just as mousy as his tone.

Zayn’s piling up his plate with chips when he glances at the boy across from him. “Why would I be mad at you?”

“Well I left without saying goodbye this morning-” Liam’s cut off by Louis choking on his soup, which causes him to pause and look to the boy in concern before going back to Zayn, “and you didn’t return my message.”

The Ravenclaw’s got his eyes locked on Louis until he’s sure the stocky boy’s coughing fit has stopped. “I just fell back asleep after I read it, Li. Really, you’re all good,” Zayn replies as he pops a greasy chip into his mouth. “I haven’t been sleeping very well lately, and for once I did last night so I was just taking advantage of it.”

Liam looks like he’s about to ask why his sleep has been poor, but Louis’ clearing his throat, “I’m sorry, do the two of you have something to fill us in on?”

Suddenly it seems like they’re all much more awake than they were a minute ago, eyes glued to the two sat at end of the table, awaiting a much desired account of the night previous.

“I wasn’t about to let him go back like that, so he stayed with me last night.” Zayn explains carefully, knowing exactly what was trying to be insinuated and not falling victim to any set traps.

“In the same bed?” Niall’s put down his glass, blue hues waiting for the go ahead to lighten up if the right response is given.

Zayn’s undoubtedly proud of the answer after years of dreaming it up, but he also wants to get swallowed up by the table all the same now that he’s being prodded to share the encounter with the others.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t a big deal,” Liam covers, seeing that Zayn was unsure of himself enough to be upfront about the boundary that had been crossed. “I got up at six and snuck back to mine; don’t think anyone even noticed I was missing. Thanks again Zayn.” The male feels his foot get knocked by what he assumes is Liam’s. “You were right, the Fat Lady would’ve had me head if she saw how I looked.”

So he did remember last night. “What kind of best friend would I be if I let that happen?” Stuffing his mouth with a forkful of shepherds pie to avoid anymore ridiculous questions, Zayn starts to reflect on the events of the night before and if he should be worried about Liam remembering _too_ much.

Harry’s giving him a cheeky eyebrow raise, but Zayn’s just glad his counterpart is staying quiet.

\---

“I think I’m going to tryout for the quidditch team,” Elijah says optimistically while kicking his feet up on the coffee table from his position on one of the Ravenclaw common room couches.

With the school year finally starting to settle in, Zayn’s decided that it fits both of their schedules best if they dedicate Monday nights to a regular chill out session. He knows it’s not expected of him, with what Thomas had told him at least, but he actually likes Elijah, and he figures that it’s probably for the best if they check in _at least_ once a week to make sure the younger wizard’s doing alright and just to strengthen their bond altogether.

“Flying lessons are going well then I take it?” Zayn gets settled in one of the comfy arm chairs nearby, robes and tie deserted in his room upstairs, leaving him in his white shirt and trousers.

“Better than I expected,” Elijah replies, eyes roaming the room for no particular reason other than to take in his surroundings. “It’s nice to be on the same level as everyone else with something.”

“Spells are new to everyone else,” Zayn points out, his own attention focused on rolling up his sleeves neatly to avoid wrinkling it too much that he couldn’t get another wear out of it.

The first year fixates his stare on someone across the room practicing a levitation spell, but his mind stays in tune with their discussion. “Yeah, but they’re just using them to learn how to do things they already know exist. I’m still finding out what sorts of things are possible.”

“Good point,” Zayn acknowledges while sitting back into his chair now that he’s comfortable with his dress. “So what position are you going for?”

“Seeker.” Now that they’re getting into more specifics and Elijah’s lost interest in the action on the opposite end of the dwelling, he turns to face Zayn. “From what I heard ours graduated last year, and as a first year I’ve got small size on my side to help stand out from the older people trying out.”

“You’ve done your research,” Zayn says with a keen look. “We lost a beater too, but I wouldn’t recommend having to carry around a bat, being as new to flying as you are. Plus yeah, no offense,” he rubs his jaw line out of habit, the small hairs scratching his fingertips, “but your frame’s as skinny as mine, eleven or not, so don’t think you’ll be too good at hitting a bludger all that far.”

Elijah chuckles at the notion of him hucking around a five kilo slab of wood for god knows how long. “You room with Teddy, right?” He asks rhetorically. “You think you could put in a good word?”

It’s a brave ask, but Zayn can only admire the kid for having the guts to do so. “I’ll tell him to keep an eye out for you, but you gotta prove your worth. My kind words can only get you so far.”

“Any help is better than none,” Elijah shrugs, stuck in thought at the string of scenarios that are appearing in his head if things were to turn out in his favour. “Then I’ll have to figure out a way to get a broom if I do make it. Can’t exactly ask my parents to ship me one from Argos, now can I?”

The older wizard’s eyes crease from his laughter at the image, “‘fraid not.” Shifting in his seat, Zayn purses his lips. “Tell you what though, when are tryouts?”

“Friday.” The male informs him, engrossed in what the pending offer might be.

“If you make it, I can get you a broom when we go to Hogsmeade next Saturday.” Zayn feels the excitement transfer from Elijah onto himself when the boy hears what he’s willing to do for him. “You can have your parents send you the money and I’ll make sure to get you a good one. Liam can help me pick it out.”

“Seriously? That’d be great, thanks.” Elijah's buzzing now, Zayn not having it in him to warn the other not to get his hopes up since it’s pretty rare for first years to make the house team. It wasn’t a problem for Liam, but considering where he’s at now with the game, the Gryffindor was a bit of an exception.

“No trouble from anyone else, right?” Zayn switches the subject, smirking at the memory of the second year Slytherin’s being escorted to the infirmary for counter potions.

“Not a sound,” Elijah shakes his head, just as proud of the outcome as he was at being able to say he knew one of the people behind it.

Happy with the response, Zayn moves on to the next mandatory question. “Classes all good too?”

“Yeah, but I’m not a massive fan of Herbology,” Elijah admits in an indifferent tone, going back to people watching.

“Neither was I.” Zayn brings his feet up onto the chair to tuck his knees against his chest. “Much rather play Harvest Moon if I’m honest.”

A group of fifth years clamber through the front door. “Pokémon and Assassin’s Creed are more my games,” the boy avows while observing the girls giggle their way across the common room.

“I fucking love Pokémon!” Elijah immediately turns his head back to Zayn when he hears the other’s not so common outburst, eyes glittered in amusement. “I do…”

Video games were one of the things that Zayn missed dearly when he first moved to Liam’s house. He had brought his game boy, but unfortunately none of his muggle electronics worked in a house so full of magic, much like how the unwritten rules seemed to be at Hogwarts. Whenever he and Liam made it down to the shopping centre he would force his best friend into Gamestation and stay for hours on end playing with the consoles and trying out the new games. It wasn’t as though Liam ever complained though, he loved trying to figure the whole thing out, having heard of the concept of video games before, but thrilled that he now had a teacher who was willing and able to show him the ins and outs of it all; a patient teacher at that.

“Named my owl after Abra,” Zayn adds, his lips curling up fondly at the thought of his barn owl.

“You really do love Pokemon.” Elijah’s own smile staying put at the seriousness at which Zayn took the games. “But the whole Abra, Kadabra, Alakazam thing’s a bit cliche for a magical pet, don’t you think?”

“It didn’t even occur to me when I first named him.” Zayn laughs when he thinks back to the day he had bought the bird in Diagon Alley, name already decided from always having wanted a pet but never being allowed one. “He was always my favourite since he sleeps so much. I never really liked his evolutions; the spoons always threw me off.” He tries to rack his brain for memory of the second game, but he couldn’t place it. “Remind me which one’s Assassin’s Creed again?”

The two spend the rest of the night chatting about video games, and as mundane as it might have seemed to Elijah, Zayn was over the moon at being able to feel a connection to a home and life that he had truly missed.

\---

The past week had gone by agonizingly slow for Zayn. Even though he had two Arithmancy tutoring sessions (a number that’s low according to Professor Vector with how the year fives are looking for their O.W.L.s later that year) and celebrated with Elijah for making it on the quidditch team Saturday, the wizard spent a good amount of the week trying to find something worth getting excited about besides the Charms proposal that was due the next Monday. To say he was restless for the Hogsmeade trip in four days was an understatement.

“You alright lad?” Niall asks, slinging an arm around Zayn’s shoulder as they walked to Charms, the other three directly in front of them.

“Uh, yeah?” He’s literally just sat with the group for lunch right before this, so Zayn’s not sure where this is coming from, or going.

“Good, because I need your help.”

There it was.

The Slytherin pulls his arm back, letting it hang by his side as he continues on with his request. “There’s this bet that I made with a guy in Hufflepuff and I know I wouldn’t normally ask you to get involved in things like this, but-”

Zayn snorts abhorrently, “Niall, I stopped believing that during our third year when you told me to meet you in the Entrance Hall and I ended up being an unbeknownst decoy for twenty minutes.”

“And I’ve learned my lesson.” The blonde sicks his hand in his pocket, hardly affected by the turmoil that he’d caused Zayn when they were younger. “Which is why I’m asking you instead of using you.”

“Gold star,” Zayn awards sarcastically, gripping his left book bag strap. “So why me?”

Having guessed that his friend would ask, Niall uses the opportune moment to play on the other’s ego. “Need your arithmancy brain.”

Now Zayn’s intrigued. “Is that so? Go on…”

“Well you know me,” the boy starts charmingly, only a slight air of hubris surrounding him and his words, “not really one to brag usually, but when it comes to Defense Against the Dark Arts, I’m not too bad.”

Zayn bites back his ‘today Niall’ comment because it’s true, the boy’s brilliant, but he can see their classroom door coming into view and he figures there’s a reason Niall’s pulled him aside instead of speaking to him in front of the others.

“Anyway, I beat this Hufflepuff in a duel last week and he’s not over it, so he wants to rematch outside of class. Need you to help predict his tendencies for me.” Knocking shoulders with his friend, Niall sneaks a peek at the Ravenclaw’s reaction, hoping to be met with a positive one.

The whole group knows that Zayn’s place is Arithmancy, but he’s actually surprised at how seldom they ask him to use his skills to predict future outcomes like this.

“You know I won’t be able to give you his whole moveset, right?” Zayn clarifies, looking back at Niall to make sure that he understands what he’s being told. If he were that much of a fortune teller he’d have set up shop already.

“I know,” the boy reassures with conviction, “just help with what his habits of movement and thought process of attack might be.”

As they enter the Charms classroom Zayn thinks over just how accurate he could get what Niall’s asking of him to be. “I’ll compile a list of the information on him that I’ll need, then you give it to Harry and we’ll go from there.” Excitement starts to come over Zayn the more that he starts to get invested in the task. “What you’re asking for is actually pretty tangible, but I’ll need a couple days after I get the data back before I can give you what I come up with.”

“Sick, cheers!” Niall smiles at Zayn in thanks before setting his things down in the place that’s usually empty next to Harry, chatting away immediately.

Taking his seat to the left of Liam, Zayn turns to his best friend to make a plea of his own. “Can I ask you a favour?”

“Always,” the Gryffindor answers without hesitation, busy trying to hang his bag on the back of his chair, but still attentive nonetheless.

“You know how Elijah made the quidditch team?” Zayn waits until Liam’s nodding before continuing. “Well I sort of told him that you’d help me pick him out a broomstick when we go to Hogsmeade this weekend, since he’s too young to go himself.”

Liam’s finished setting up his quill and paper, now turning his full attention to Zayn because of it. “Sounds more like a treat for me than a favour,” he disputes bemusedly. “You know how much I love that sort of thing, even if it is for the enemy.”

Zayn’s softly smiling back at Liam’s dramatic attempt at a competitive glare. “I figured as much, but I just wanted to make sure it was alright.”

“No favour is ever too much for you.”

It’s a simple declaration, but it’s all Zayn’s head can think about for the rest of the class.

\---

_“Isn’t it all cool Zayn?”_

_“Uh, yeah Liam, I guess it is.”_

_People push past where the two boys are stopped, Zayn still trying to make his eyes stick to one foreign thing instead of bouncing from window to window of the shops that made up Diagon Alley._

_There are books that are hopping around, toy shops with displays that put bouncy balls to shame, candy on fire to show off its spice level, all things that Zayn could only have dreamt up months prior. He’d been living at Liam’s magical household for nearly three months now, but that was really the only exposure that he had to the wizarding world, beyond stories that he had been told about what existed outside the home in Wolverhampton._

_So yeah, Liam’s right, it is cool, but it’s also **really** overwhelming._

_Luckily Liam picks up on it and leads the way with his Dad, Mum going off with Liam’s sisters to get what they needed for the upcoming school year._

_Liam had begged his parents to let them take the muggle train into London and enter the secret street through The Leaky Cauldron in order for Zayn to show him around the city from a muggle’s perspective on the way there. He may have been young, but because he lived in the capital all his life, Zayn knew the place like the back of his hand._

_“Dad, can we go get our wands first?”_

_Zayn’s brought out of his state of wonderment, pain suddenly taking over when he wishes that he was there with **his** Father. He loves Liam’s Dad, and is more grateful than he could ever put into words for how wonderfully the he and his family have taken care of him, but he’d never replace the man with the Pakistani accent that Zayn had always called his hero._

_The boy must have missed the part where Liam’s Dad had agreed because before he knows it, Liam’s tugging his jumper sleeve eagerly._

_“I’ve been waiting for this moment for eleven years and now it’s finally here,” Liam professes, his pupils huge and grip tight at the reality of his words sinking in._

_It’s times like these where Zayn wonders if everyone’s as excited and in love with magic as Liam or if he’s just got a unique friend. “Do you know which one you want?”_

_“Your wand picks you, you can’t choose,” Liam explains, using his might to hold open open the door for Zayn, his Dad taking over seconds later._

_This shop seems pretty tame compared to what Zayn’s seen so far, walls lined with cases that reminded him of shoe boxes for as far as he could see._

_“Can I help you?”_

_Zayn turns around and sees the older man come out from the back. He’s staring at Zayn before his eyes catch Liam, the sight of the boy bringing a wide smile to his face. “Mr. Payne, finally your year?”_

_Liam’s nodding frantically and Zayn doesn’t know when he’s ever seen Liam quite this excited. Perhaps when he had beaten Zayn’s high score in muggle pinball that time they were waiting in a pizza parlour, but even that seemed to pale in comparison to Liam’s joy at the moment._

_“At last,” the boy agrees, his hands wrapping around the edge of the countertop in suspense as he waits patiently for the shopkeeper to come back from wherever he’s gone off to in the back._

_“Do you know him?” Zayn whispers, saddling up to Liam’s side and examining the contents on the surface in front of them._

_“It’s Mr. Ollivander, best wandmaker in the wizarding world.” Liam’s voice is rushed, like he can’t grab hold of the thoughts that are whizzing through his brain. “I was always so jealous when I had to watch my sisters get their wands. He used to tease me that my time would come eventually and now I’m finally here.”_

_Their attention is back on the man who has materialized in front of them once more, two boxes in his hands. “Alright Mr. Payne, have a go at this.”_

_Zayn’s seen Liam’s parents use their wands, so he’s not completely new to this, but he wonders what the process of the wand choosing the wizard looks like._

_As if it’s glass, Liam takes the wood and stands back, pointing it at the ground and giving it a twirl._

_Nothing happens._

_In an instant, Liam’s face goes from ecstatic to horrified._

_“Not to worry, not to worry. Here,” the shopkeeper waves for Liam to give it back. “Try this one.” He’s handing over a darker coloured wand with a more pointed end and etched up handle._

_This time Liam’s determined, eyebrows knitted together furiously. He points the wand back at the floor and makes a small circle with emphasis._

_A hole burns into the wooden floorboards and Zayn jumps back with wide eyes._

_“Third time’s a charm!” Ollivander exclaims optimistically, not wanting to ruin Liam’s spirits and the experience he had looked forward to for years. “This one might be more your length.”_

_Zayn can’t help but think it looks nearly identical to the one his friend had just tried, but he keeps quiet and watches as Liam’s flick of the wrist produces a red hue of smoke that smelled amazing._

_“Fresh rose water,” Zayn blurts out. “That’s what it smells like.” All three males look at him, but he doesn’t lose his ardour at the sudden attention. “The Moroccan man who used to cut my hair used it as a last step.”_

_“Well it looks like you’ve found your wand Mr. Payne,” the old man praises, Zayn a bit let down that no one acknowledged his accurate identification. “Twelve and a half inch, laurel wood with a phoenix feather core. Congratulations.”_

_Liam’s beside himself in joy that he’s finally got a wand of his own and is one step closer to officially entering the world of magic._

_“Now what about your friend here?”_

_Zayn looks up from Liam’s side where he was trying to make out the pattern on the lower third portion of the wood, hesitant on answering the man._

_“Zayn’s new to magic,” Liam offers up, reluctantly handing over his wand to be packaged up, but still enthused that he gets to watch his friend go through the rite of passage._

_“Muggleborn?” Mr. Ollivander studies Zayn intently, no sign of bias either way._

_“He’s going to be in Ravenclaw for sure,” Liam adds, and Zayn’s used to his status by now, but he’s still appreciative at how Liam always seems to bring him onto an even playing ground as much as he can._

_“So you like to learn?” The old man asks with an inquisitive stare._

_Matching the adult’s gaze, Zayn swallows as he tries to come up with an impressive answer. “Yeah-“_

_“Zayn’s a really quick learner and he loves to read.” Liam’s interposition has Zayn’s honey eyes snapping over to his figure in astonishment. “He-“_

_“ **Liam** ,” the boy’s Father cuts him off with a stern look._

_“Sorry,” he mumbles, only slightly frustrated that he wasn’t able to continue on with what he wanted to say._

_Zayn’s not sure if Liam’s apologizing to him or to his Dad. Either way, he doesn’t think it’s necessary; his keen interest in learning who Zayn was and showing him off was something the older boy loved about Liam. He hated to see that held back in any way._

_“It’s alright,” Zayn whispers so that Liam doesn’t get even more embarrassed or think that he didn’t appreciate their closeness._

_He directs his attention and voice back to the older man who’s still waiting for a further explanation of who he was. It takes Zayn a moment to figure out how to express who he is without mentioning he loves samosas or half pipes. “Well, like he said, I do like to read, but I enjoy art and creative stuff too.”_

_“He can speak Urdu too!”_

_“ **Liam!** ”_

_“Well he can!” The boy stands his ground, arms crossed over his chest in solidarity. “And it’s wicked.”_

_Zayn bites back a smile at how Liam refuses to keep quiet about something like his first language._

_“So a quiet challenger…” The wandmaker gives Zayn another once over in pensive thought. “Ok I think I know something.” Ollivander disappears once again and Liam’s Dad takes the moment to scold Liam even further._

_“Zayn’s new, but you can’t talk for him,” the man asserts, his challenging stance telling Liam that he’s not messing around._

_“It’s fine Mr. Payne.” Zayn settles on the simple defense, not wanting to seem disrespectful by denouncing the adults words, but also not wanting for Liam to feel guilty over something he shouldn’t._

_“See, he says it’s fine,” Liam counters to his Father with a satisfied grin._

_“Ok Mr….”_

_Zayn stands up straighter as Ollivander’s back with a few boxes. “Malik.”_

_“Mr. Malik, see if this suits you.”_

_The wand’s shorter than Liam’s and lighter in colour, with lines carved around the wood near the base. He’s glad that Liam’s gone first to know what to do, but Zayn’s still apprehensive when he holds it out in front of him._

_“Just copy what I did,” Liam whispers encouragingly, eagerly waiting to see what might happen._

_So he does, and instantly there’s an energy coursing down his right arm that both scares and excites him._

_“Did you feel something Mr. Malik?”_

_Zayn turns to Ollivander and nods in response. “Like how I felt when I used to turn on broken electronics, except…” He beholds the wood in his hand, complete awe having taken over his senses at the fact that he was finally able to have more than just the title of a wizard, “more powerful.”_

_The older man looks pleased, “it’s rare that I get it right on the first try, but it looks like I’ve still got it.”_

_“But nothing happened.” Liam’s stood with confusion at the anticlimactic showing._

_“Mr. Payne, not all wands choose their wizards by showing off. Some have a more subtle way of selection. A bond of sorts.” Ollivander holds his hand out for Zayn to surrender his wand for packaging. “Matches Mr. Malik’s personality, don’t you think?” Liam’s confusion switches to pride at Zayn’s uniqueness. “Ten and three-quarters, fir wood, unicorn hair core. Congratulations,” the shopkeeper holds a celebratory expression._

_“Thank you,” Zayn replies with gratitude, touched that his wand had chosen such a fitting way to reveal itself._

_Liam’s Dad is paying, Zayn immediately fishing into his pockets to pull out the pouch of money that Professor Thomas had sent over the week prior and hand over the right amount for his own portion._

_The bag had come with a letter stating that there was a fund available at Hogwarts for students who couldn’t afford their supplies. Zayn had taken his hidden shoebox of savings when he had left his parents’, but any time he had tried to offer it to the Payne’s for food or any treats that he and Liam were given, they refused to take it, instead telling him to keep it for emergencies. Between Liam’s family and the school fund, Zayn made a silent vow to give back as much as he could to both once life allowed it._

_“Good luck boys!” Ollivander calls out as the three are leaving, Zayn sending him a quiet grin in thanks, while Liam waved jovially._

_They’re only back in the midst of the crowds for a few seconds before Liam’s on to the next thing that catches his eye. “Dad can we go into the quidditch shop?”_

_“I’m not buying you a broom,” his Father informs him fondly, unaffected by the puppy dog eyes that are begging him to give in._

_Zayn can tell that the look’s a practiced one, but it didn’t seem like the man was willing to budge regardless of the cute factor Liam was going for. “But if I make the team, I’m going to need one!” The boy’s shrill tone makes the raven grin to himself._

_“If you make the team I’ll send you one in the post, but for now you can look.”_

_Liam leans into Zayn’s ear, “I’ll change his mind.” Pulling back he makes his way over to the storefront, “tell me about the rose water. Did he dunk your head in it after he cut your hair?”_

\---

As they’re stood in front of Spintwitches Sporting Needs, Zayn remembers his dream from the night before and how despite Liam’s numerous attempts at trying to convince his Dad to buy him a broom prematurely, all he walked out with was a patch to put on his book bag. He’d have to wait three weeks before he got his favourite Comet broomstick dropped to him on the Slytherin table at breakfast, his Father not forgetting about his promise once the young Gryffindor had made the team.

“Well it’s no Quality Quidditch Supplies, but we’ll find him something good.” The brisk Scottish highland breeze causes Liam to rub his hands together. Opening the door to the shop, he waits for his best friend to head in before following.

After finding the flying section, Zayn was relieved that he had brought Liam. He might have had to listen to the boy and Teddy talk for hours on end about the game throughout the years, but he had absolutely no clue where to start when it came to buying equipment for it.

“For a seeker we want to find something thin,” Liam explains as he’s surveying the selection, fingers pinching his lips in thought.

Zayn explores the different options on display, taking in Liam’s side profile once he deems that infinitely more captivating. “Teddy says most of the Ravenclaw’s use Cleansweeps. Does that mean anything?”

“Yeah, but they have thicker handles.” His voice present, but cognizance still with the broomsticks. “That’s not a bad thing though.” Liam pauses, frowning when he doesn’t find what he wants. “There’s no new Nimbus’, just used.”

“I don’t think he’ll care if it’s used honestly,” Zayn says sincerely, still fixated on the jawline that’s become quite pronounced over the past year.

Liam shakes his head, taking down a broomstick to inspect. “I don’t recommend it. It’s like you said with computers, you shouldn’t buy a used because you never know what the owner before has done with it. Here,” he passes the broom over to Zayn, “it’ll be good for him to have something similar to the rest of the Ravenclaw’s to start out with. If he gets good he can go to Diagon and get a Nimbus in a few years.”

Zayn takes the broom that’s being handed to him, not quite sure what he’s expected to do with it because if Liam says that it’s good then that’s all he really needs to hear; the small recollection of a fact that Zayn had taught him years ago making him fall further in love.

“Sounds good to me,” he shrugs apathetically, pleased that the selection process was that straight forward. “Thanks for this by the way.” Zayn tips the broom to show what he’s referring to. “I know he won’t really know the difference between what I bring him back, but saying you picked it out will give me a bit more credibility.”

Liam pulls at his jumper sleeves casually, “I told you it wasn’t a problem. I like Elijah, so I’m glad I could help.”

Zayn pays for the broom with the money Elijah’s parents had sent to him and asks the worker if he can send it directly to Elijah at Hogwarts on Monday, wanting for the boy to be able to have that moment of attention like Liam had gotten all those years ago; he might be biased, but Zayn thought the younger Ravenclaw deserved to be recognized in front of all his peers.

As they walk to Scrivenshaft’s for Zayn to pick up some extra notebooks, Liam’s chatting about his latest lecture in History of Magic, but both stop when a girl stands in their path.

“Hey Liam.”

Anna Witherson.

“Hey Anna,” Liam replies politely with a charming smile, all talk of Ministry formation abandoned.

Any smile that Liam shows comes across as charismatic and Zayn can’t stand it; its direction just a brutal reminder that he’s not the reason behind it.

“Hi Zayn,” the girl greets, though he sees it as more of an obligatory acknowledgement since he’s standing less than a meter in front of her; it’d be rude if she didn’t, and as a Hufflepuff, Zayn knows she probably doesn’t have it in her.

“Hello.” The curt response gets under Zayn’s _own_ skin, digging into him with guilt at his inability to act civil with a girl who clearly has more courage than he does to get what she wants.

“I didn’t know you were going to come to Hogsmeade this trip.” The girl’s got her eyes trained on Liam, and Zayn hopes that the Gryffindor knows what’s going on so his pain can come and go and they can get back to their day. “No quidditch practice?”

“Switched it to the afternoons for trip days,” Liam clarifies, bringing his right hand up to his face to brush his bangs to the side.

“Oh,” Anna utters at the newfound information, her eyes drifting down to Liam’s chest and filling with delight at the compliment that she’s just thought up. “That jumper looks nice on you.”

Liam looks down at the maroon knit and Zayn just about excuses himself right then and there. “Thanks, it’s new.” The boy runs a hand over the material covering his stomach. “Thought I’d take advantage of the whole no school uniform thing and wear it out.”

Zayn feels pathetic just standing there, watching as Louis’ predictions are coming true: Liam’s going to get pulled away by someone else before he has a chance to make a solid move. It’s a sick form of dejavu that Zayn’s had to endure one too many times.

“Well it suits you,” Anna compliments once more. “We should grab a drink some time. Maybe the next trip? Or if you ever want to sit at the Hufflepuff table for dinner one night, I’m sure I can make space.”

 _This is agonizing_ , Zayn thinks to himself, missing the uncertain look that Liam’s directing towards him briefly, since he’s diverted his eyes to the ground, not wanting to have to watch _and_ listen to the flirting going on right under his nose.

Liam turns back to the girl, chewing on his bottom lip in uneasiness. “Yeah maybe next trip,” he yields softly.

Anna’s slightly disappointed that her attempt to get him to herself sooner than the next trip at the end of October wasn’t successful, but glad that he hadn’t shut her down completely. “Alright, I’m holding you to it. See ya around.”

Liam nods, sending the Hufflepuff a courteous smile to cover up any lingering negative vibes he might have given off with his reply, “see ya.”

“Bye Zayn,” the girl adds before walking off to where her friends were waiting.

“Bye,” he grumbles, hating himself for not being able to act like a decent human being and give her an upbeat farewell like she was entitled to. She may not have talked to him, but she wasn’t malevolent like he had made her up to be in his head either.

“You alright?” Liam questions as they start walking towards the stationary store again, his concern evident by his tone and tight facial expression.

Zayn snaps out of his mood once he realizes that the only thing worse than having it, is to be called out for it. “Yeah, yeah. ‘M fine.”

“You’re sure?” The older wizard can tell that Liam’s trying to pick up on any hidden mannerisms that might show him that Zayn’s lying - thing’s that he’s picked up on over the years as a product of their relationship, but he tries to ignore it.

“I’m sure,” Zayn confirms, taking a deep breath as he approaches the store entrance.

“Hey, what time is it?” Liam asks quickly, stopping where is instead of taking the last few steps towards the shop.

Zayn checks his leather wristwatch, exhaling a cold breath, “you really need to get your own watch.”

“Why would I need one when I could just ask you?” Liam kicks at the cobblestoned sidewalk with his boots. “You’re always around.” Always around _me._

The Ravenclaw bites his lip at the comment, sacrificing it getting chapped for a means of release from self disappointment at always being ‘around’. “It’s eleven,” he mutters, peaking into the storefront and craving the warmth that it seems to hold inside. “Why? Got somewhere to be?”

“Yeah actually.” Liam suddenly looks very apologetic, but then again Zayn thinks he might too because he definitely wasn’t expecting that to be the answer. “Need to meet the quidditch team.”

“Thought you pushed practice?” The Ravenclaw transfers his weight onto his left leg, not concerned about his body temperature like he once was.

“I did, but I want to include bonding things this year. Build trust and make it seem more like a team instead of just a group of players, you know?” Liam’s got that insecure demeanor he gets whenever he’s looking for his best friend’s approval.

Zayn wants to be mad at Liam for not telling him, and especially for having to bare witness to what just happened, he does, but he has to recognize that it’s a smart leadership move.

“Yeah, I get it.” Zayn does his best to not look as defeated as he probably sounds. The cold starts to make itself known once more with a gust of wind, and now he really wants to get inside. “I’ll meet you on the train later then, yeah?”

Liam looks like he’s trying to find something to say in order to make it up to Zayn and not have him feel as disappointed as he seemed, but the captain can’t change the occasion from what it was. “Yeah, of course. Just the five of us.”

It’s a sad attempt at redemption, but Zayn takes it. What else can he do? “Don’t go getting drunk again. I won’t be able to save you from humiliation in such a public place.”

He doesn’t wait for a response, just sends Liam a slick wink, and then disappears into the store.

\---

As always, Liam keeps his promise and rides back with the group instead of his quidditch team. Even with two hours having passed, Zayn was still bitter about the Anna situation, but grateful that at least the others weren’t aware of it and could use it against him as what they would call ‘friendly fire’.

On Monday he and Liam watch in anticipation as Elijah’s broom comes in the post, dropped along with any other mail that needs distributing, but standing out due to its large size. Zayn felt like some sort of proud parent by the way Elijah’s face lit up at the delivery and the amount of pats on the back mixed with congratulations that he got. Kicking Liam’s foot under the table, Zayn waits until he’s looking before mouthing a ‘thank you’, the Gryffindor sending back a smile and short ‘of course.’

It isn’t until later in the day that Zayn gets to hear how much Elijah loves the broomstick, opting for an afternoon walk around the lake instead of their usual Monday night meetup somewhere in the castle as a result of the older of the two having to reschedule one of his tutoring sessions.

“Seriously Zayn, it’s insane! I can’t wait to try it out at practice on Wednesday. It just _looks_ fast,” the boy says animatedly, speaking a lot with his hands to get out the passionate energy.

Zayn’s eyebrows are raised in amusement at the spirited gestures. “Liam said it’ll do you good for your first couple years and then if you want you can trade up.”

“I saw him before lunch and thanked him too.” Leaves crunch underneath their feet, a signal that autumn’s arrived. Elijah turned to Zayn, “I know he’s your mate, but it’s cool that someone on another team would help out.”

“That’s Liam for you: king of quidditch and kind hearted loyalty, issued to anyone regardless of their house.” He leans down to pick up a short stick before continuing forward. “I still remember when he made the team his first year too. Been goin’ on about how he was gonna make it since the day I met him. How he was so confident, I don’t know. Kid hadn’t even been on a broom in his life,” Zayn smiles down fondly at the fallen piece of branch. “I kept trying to tell him that he should probably wait to see if he was any good before getting his hopes up. Now he’s gonna get scouted.” He tilts his head, peering over at the boy walking next to him. “Guess I shoulda listened, huh?”

Feeling eyes on him, Elijah glances over at Zayn with a neutral expression, shrugging at his question. “Seems like the type that if he sets his mind to it, he’ll do it.”

For as little as the first year had interacted with Liam, he was pretty spot on. “You’re not wrong.” Zayn casts his eyes back downward toward the stick he’s been fiddling with. “When we first went to get all our stuff for school at Diagon Alley he was excited about two things: trying to figure out a way to get his Dad to buy him a broom and getting his wand.” He shakes his head in nostalgia, “I didn’t know what the fuck to expect, so I was just tryin’ to not look like an idiot.”

The relatable words bring a smile to Elijah’s face, “yeah, when Professor Thomas took my parents and I, I felt the same way.”

“This reminds me of our third year when I was practicing Defense and broke my wand.” Zayn shows him the stick, taking out his wand and comparing the two. “Looks similar, doesn’t it?”

“Without the round bit, yeah,” Elijah agrees, but he’s more intrigued by the mention of Zayn’s wand breaking more than the lookalike. “I didn’t know you could break a wand.”

“Yeah, me either,” Zayn replies candidly, putting his wand back in his pocket. “I guess I was too quick with the spell or something and the wood split; sounded like it cracked when it happened. Apparently it’s extremely rare, a one in a million sort of thing. I don’t know, go figure.” He throws the stick to the side, “so I had to send it to Ollivander’s to have it repaired. It was gonna take a few days to get it back, so Liam went out and found a stick like that one and whittled it down to look like mine so I could at least hold something while I practiced.” Talking about the memory has Zayn lost in his head, not paying attention to how far they were walking or their surroundings at all. “It’s probably the most thoughtful thing anyone’s ever done for me. Honestly, it was the only reason I kept using it in my classes even though people gave me shit for it until my real one came back.”

“So what’s your deal with him?”

Zayn turns to Elijah with genuine confusion, unsure if he’s referring to their friendship, home life, or both, “what do you mean?”

“Well I’ve only known you for a month, but you bring him up all the time.” The boy pauses so that he can get his wording right and not give off the impression that the topic of Liam Payne was a bad thing. “I get you guys grew up together and you live with him, but you speak about him more than I would about my best friend.”

He really was that transparent, wasn’t he?

 _No use in lying then,_ Zayn thinks to himself. “If you’re anything like Louis, you won’t shut up about it until you get the full story.” He turns away in disgust once he sees Elijah’s smug smile, taking a deep breath before he’s ripping the plaster off. “I’m working on making it out of the friend zone.”

The younger wizard nods along, not at all trying to conceal the ego boost he got from being told he resembled the Slytherin, “and how’s that going?”

“Slowly,” Zayn hisses in annoyance at now giving himself another heckler for the sidelines “I’m not the type to rush things.”

Elijah holds his closed mouth smile, “well if you ever need any tips…”

Zayn’s back to looking at the boy with raised eyebrows, “oh really? You think you can help, Romeo?”

“Don’t underestimate me just because of my age.” The boy sends him a challenging countenance, in addition to his conceited response. “And it’s already October. You’re clearly still in the friend zone, so it looks like you can use all the help you can get.”

“You know what?” Zayn refuses to give Elijah the satisfaction of seeing him smile at the joke, shoving the boy lightly instead. “When I said you were like Louis, it wasn’t a compliment.” He shakes his head and sticks his leg out for the male to stumble on just because he can, “knob.”

\---

“Do you remember when you made me that fake wand when we were like fourteen?”

Liam looks up from his pile of papers when he hears Zayn’s question, having to jump out of study mode to register what he’s asking. “Yeah,” he leans back from his work with a grin. “Took me like an hour to try and get it right from memory. What ever happened to it?”

“It’s in my desk at home,” the older boy confesses with absolutely no shame at what that says about him, keeping something so useless as a stick for three years.

“You kept it?” Liam’s expression switches to one of softened disbelief.

Zayn looks across the Gryffindor common room table, glad that it’s just the two of them that Friday night, but also confused as to why Liam would assume that he wouldn’t take care of something so meaningful. “How could I not?” He feels himself smile as Liam’s widens at his words. “Elijah and I were walking around the lake on Monday and I saw one that looked like it. Can’t believe it took you an hour…”

“Had to get it just right.” Laughter from the boy cuts through the quiet space, “not that it mattered. Everyone ended up recognizing it was fake anyway.”

 _That’s **all** that mattered_, Zayn thinks to himself. “Still,” he plays off casually, eyeballing Liam’s work in front of him. “How’s the Charms project going?”

“I think I overestimated how much work it’s going to be,” Liam says as his own brown eyes heed the pile of books around them. “Flitwick loved it, but when he said I should start soon with the components being so intricate, it hit me how much was going to have to go into it.”

Not wanting to sound like a broken record, Zayn holds his tongue from letting the other know that he would help if he needed him to.

“What about Arithmancy?” Knowing better than to not give Zayn his full credit, Liam corrects himself with gentle reconsideration. “Sorry, _Advanced_ Arithmancy.”

The Ravenclaw rolls his eyes affectionately at the added emphasis, “it’s going fine. Obviously challenging, but I like it.”

_A quiet challenger…_

“I don’t know how you do it. I couldn’t even understand regular Arithmancy let alone Advanced.” Liam’s full attention is now on Zayn, the peacefulness of the room lending itself to the moment. “Why do you like it so much?”

“If I had a quid for every time you’ve asked me that…” Small scratches from Zayn’s quill can be heard as he jots down a passing prediction to the theory he was working on, the sound one that the wizard found lulling.

“I know, but I just like hearing you talk about it.”

Zayn looks up from his notes, eyes resting on Liam’s. There’s a small swelling in his chest at the comment, but it’s the want that’s written all over Liam’s face as he waits to hear the explanation that he’s heard a thousand times ever since Zayn first took up the subject four years ago that’s captured Zayn’s heart; as if he’ll never tire of the words because he loves to listen to his best friend talk about something he loves, no matter if the only thing he gets in return is the satisfaction of getting to see the other get lost in his thoughts.

How could Zayn _not_ love a soul like that?

“I enjoy numbers and logic and analytics and building things based on all that.” Lithe fingers put down the writing utensil. “It’s no engineering, but it’s as close to maths as wizarding has to offer. And I’m good at it,” Zayn shrugs matter factly. “Generally people like something that comes naturally to them.”

Usually that’s enough for Liam, but apparently not today, the boy keeping a steady eye on his friend. “Are you disappointed that you weren’t able to be an engineer?”

Zayn ponders the question, shifting in his seat as he does and realizing how similar this conversation was to the one he and Elijah had had a month ago. “I don’t think disappointed’s the right word. Surprised, I guess is more like it.” Looking between Liam’s eyes, he finds a hint of frustration, a desperation for personal understanding almost. “I think research will do me well though. Figure out ways to combine muggle technology and magic, maybe write a few textbooks on it. It’s just a different spin on what I wanted to do before.” They’ve discussed this in the past, but Zayn still feels inadequate not being able to do anything to help Liam grasp his point of view other than through detailed descriptions of his upbringing and how that’s affected his present. “So no, I don’t think I’m disappointed that I’m not gonna be an engineer.”

Liam’s quiet, but it seems like the answer’s covered what he was wondering. “If I wasn’t a wizard, what do you think I’d be?”

Any previous sense of ineptitude has been replaced with a smile at where the other’s train of thought has gone. “Firefighter,” Zayn responds instantly, letting his head rest on his propped up fist.

“You’ve thought about this before…” Not once has Liam’s gaze left Zayn’s figure, the occupation cited only intensifying it.

Zayn really should be more embarrassed than he is for being called out, but he stands by his decision so much so, that he’s more proud than he is ashamed. “Once or twice,” he confirms truthfully. “I think you’d be a firefighter, Harry’s already got the whole nurse thing going on, same with Niall being a police officer, and Louis’d probably end up being an actor or something like that; he likes the attention too much.”

Liam crosses his arms in a comfortable manor, eyes shining with intrigue. “You know I’m going to ask you why a firefighter…”

Where does Zayn even start? “You’re a hard worker who likes helping people. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you afraid either.” Even when they went to the local muggle aquarium one summer and saw the shark feedings, Liam was pressed up against the glass in awe. Zayn thought he was nuts. “It’s an honest job that’s rewarding, and that’s something you value. That, and the fact that your shoulders would fill out a fireman’s uniform quite well I reckon.”

Liam’s expression goes from compassionate to sultry and Zayn’s really got to control himself at the sudden switch. “So you’ve got a thing for uniforms and shoulders, huh? First quidditch and now this.” Liam angles his head to the right as he takes in the boy’s reaction. “Good to know…”

Maybe Zayn’s getting more used to the whole flirting with Liam thing, because he hardly feels himself blush at the reference. “There’s no uniform for researchers, so I’d be able to wear my hair down some days and we can call it even.” He shoots back his own challenging smirk. “Deal?”

“Thought you were about to say that since there were no uniforms for researchers you could just go naked,” Liam’s licking his lips in amusement, patiently awaiting how the wizard will react to that.

Zayn thought too soon because the heat was now surfacing full force at Liam’s outwardness and domineering grin to go along with it. “I’d probably work a lot from home, so if we move in together like we plan to, you’d be in for a show every evening if that was the case.” Given his lack of preparation for explicit flirting, Zayn thinks that sounded pretty strong.

“You make that sound like it’s a bad thing,” Liam retorts smoothly, hardly batting an eye at what was thrown at him.

How was he so good at this? So ready with effortless words that he had to know would turn Zayn into a mess. Beneath his outer innocence was Liam actually a seasoned lothario?

It’s a question Zayn’s got not time to dwell on, he needs to focus on how to get out of the corner he’s backed himself into. No one’s going to interrupt this time and save him from having to respond, he’s on his own in this sad game of cat and mouse.

“Or you can stick with the flat hair, that works too.”

Looks like Liam himself had to be the one to do the saving this time around, Zayn’s floundering for words and eating up time sending the wrong signal.

“No, no!” Zayn exclaims, Liam surprised at the exclamation, but visibly enjoying the boy’s struggle. “Sorry, I just- that’s not what I meant. I could be naked.”

The Ravenclaw practically winces at how horribly awkward that sounds, but Liam’s just smiling endearingly. “Go back to your Arithmancy.”

“I could! Flat hair _and_ naked as a matter of fact.” He knows he sounds desperate, but Zayn doesn’t care, he just doesn’t want to lose the moment to his stupidity.

Liam’s playful grin stays on his lips as he finally breaks eye contact and looks down at his work. “Whatever you say Zayn…”

Once the other’s got his own head back into his books, Zayn realizes their small study break’s over.

 _I could be naked?_ Maybe he _should_ ask Elijah for tips.

\---

With the weather changing, the courtyards are much too cold to use as gathering places, hence Zayn sitting in an armchair across from where Harry’s reading in between Louis’ legs on the couch in their hidden room. It’s a Tuesday afternoon, which means none of them have class directly after lunch, so Zayn’s decided to help Louis come up with a replacement Charms project since his proposal had been spectacularly denied.

_‘All I’m saying is why couldn’t Flitwick look the other way about the alcohol thing? He could’ve just pretended it was a generic flavour changing spell.’_

It takes all of twenty minutes for Zayn to get tired of hearing ridiculous ideas, causing him to direct Louis to spitball on his own and make a list of at least ten concepts before he asks for the Ravenclaw’s opinion again.

Following the request, the only sound that can be heard in the room comes from Louis’ frustrated breathing, so when Zayn breaks the silence with “I think I’m going to ask out Liam”, the other two nearly jump out of their skins.

Louis looks at him with a mixture of boredom and skepticism. “Genuinely? Or is this one of those times where you gather up the courage for a few hours and then we never hear of it again until you say the same thing six months later? Because I tired of that years ago.”

Zayn’s defensive guard comes up, a lot less having to do with what Louis’ said and a lot more with the fact that it’s him who’s said it. “Aren’t you supposed to be supportive of your yearly goal or whatever?”

“A lad can only take so much Zayn,” the boy protests, running a hand through Harry’s curls when the younger wizard giggles from behind his book.

“Well I mean it this time. We’ve been flirting some and it’s now or never,” Zayn fiddles with his wand, trying to remember how Elijah had taught him to spin it over his knuckles. “Anna Witherson asked him out while we were at Hogsmeade and I nearly lost it.”

“I thought I heard her talking about him in the common room,” Harry chimes in, marking his spot and closing the text. “Couldn’t really make out details, but I heard his name.”

Pleased that he had an excuse to stop working and that it was also one that pertained to Zayn’s love life, Louis tosses his parchment on the ground. “So what’d he say?”

“What do you think he said?” Zayn doesn’t bother to look up from the wood that was caught between his fingers stubbornly, “he was his usual nice Liam self and said maybe.”

“Look at this way, at least _something_ kicked you into gear,” Harry rationalizes in a benevolent tone. “Now you just have to make sure you ask him before maybe turns into yes.”

“That means sooner rather than later Zayn.” Louis’ harsh voice pairs together well with the forceful stare he’s giving the male in question.

The words are enough to move Zayn to finally look up from his poorly executed movements. “I’d like to say the same about you coming up with ten potential spells.”

“Can’t Niall just create his encyclopedia thing already?” Louis sighs. “It’s exhausting having to figure out if what I want exists or not.”

“Speaking of Niall,” Zayn sticks his wand into the seat cushion of the armchair, “when’s that duel thing that I helped prep him for?” He nods towards Harry, “you gave me that guy’s info like two weeks ago.”

“I think it’s tonight actually,” the boy denotes, looking away to remember what he knew. “They were waiting to figure out what private room to use and when would be the perfect night to sneak in without getting caught.” He flips his book back open to the bookmarked page, voice cunning when he says, “people really should be more careful about what they say in the common room.”

Makes sense as to why Niall didn’t want to come study with them, Zayn thinks. Probably wants tons of focus if it’s going to happen that soon.

“Is it an open thing?” Filled with intrigue, Zayn ignores the dangerous aspect of getting caught. “I kinda want to go and see if my predictions were right.”

“From what he’s told me, it’s only going to be a selective group. Pretty sure we’re all included in that,” Louis figures, peeking over Harry’s shoulder to try and make out what he was reading. “Doubt Liam’s gonna wanna come though. Too risky for the Head Boy.”

Burdening worry aside, Zayn knows that there’s another reason why it’s not worth letting Liam in on. “He’s got corridor patrol tonight.”

“Of course you’d know that,” Louis mutters, eyes darting up to meet Zayn’s before going back to the passage he was reading.

“Just message the time when you find out, yeah?” Zayn insists, trying to make out what the male’s written on the discarded paper from where he’s sat. “Now please tell me that you’ve got at least ten ideas and I didn’t waste my entire afternoon.”

“Let’s meet in the middle with five...”

\---

Catching a glimpse of his watch, Zayn notices that it hardly took Niall ten minutes to win the duel; not that he expected him to lose, but he hadn’t thought it would be over so quickly either. The small group of people that had gathered to witness the combat all arrived at around midnight, but now that Niall had just caused the Hufflepuff to surrender after being thrown against the wall with a quick _‘depulso!’_ , each entourage was starting to get ready to leave.

“Good job,” Zayn compliments as Niall makes his way over to where his supporters have gathered, giving him a pat on the back once he’s in front of the Ravenclaw. “Told you you’d win.”

“Not without your help.” Not much light fills the room, but Zayn’s eyes have long since adjusted, so he can easily make out the triumphant smile on the blond’s lips. “You were right about his defensive instincts.”

Harry takes a look at the cuts on Niall’s temple, “not too bad. He’s a lot worse off.” The boy brings his wand up to the few shallow gashes, “episkey.”

Niall’s skin closes and cleans itself promptly, as if the cuts were never there in the first place.

“Bet he doesn’t have a healer either,” Louis mentions louder than normal, for the other side of the room to hear no doubt.

“Thanks H-“

Niall’s cut off by a younger student barreling into the classroom. “Get out! Professor Jones is coming!”

All at once people are panicking and scrambling to beat each other to the door, Zayn included.

Professor Jones was generally perceived as a kind woman, but having been in the Gryffindor common room when the Head of House had gone off on a student once for breaking some school rule, Zayn did **not** want to be on her bad side. Especially since he and Harry had to see her twice a week for the rest of the year in Transfiguration.

Once they exit the room, Zayn looks to his friends, but it seems like they’re all on the same page: don’t worry about me, every man for himself.

He books it down the hallway, completely forgoing any rhyme or reason to his twists and turns, he just knows he’s got to get off the sixth floor. For someone who’s usually the resourceful one of the group, Zayn doesn’t even stop to think about a spell that could silence the sound of his shoes against the concrete, the threat of impending doom overriding his intelligence.

A few people had initially followed him, but when Zayn dares to look over his shoulder he notices that he’s on his own now. Ducking into a classroom entryway, the wizard stops to catch his breath and take a moment to come to his senses so he can think up something to help him.

Waving his wand around himself, Zayn casts a disillusionment charm to render him virtually invisible - a chameleon to his surroundings.

Cautiously, Zayn cranes his head out of the nook, the surroundings telling him that he’s gotten far enough away that he should be in the clear with Jones, but it’s way past curfew, so the quicker he gets to his common room the better.

Sliding out of his spot, Zayn makes his way down the hall and realizes that he’s headed more towards the Astronomy Tower than the Ravenclaw. The corridor’s in Gryffindor territory, and for a second he thinks about pulling out his card and messaging to see if Liam was still out on patrol. Before he has the chance to give it a serious thought, he hears footsteps, which causes him to immediately become unnerved since there’s nowhere to hide.

Leaning up against the wall, Zayn holds his breath, hoping that his charm would do its job and make him blend into the brick pattern. He peeks open an eye and sees that the person he’s heard was the same one he was just thinking about. “Liam?”

The Gryffindor immediately takes out his wand and stares in the direction of Zayn’s voice, jaw clenched from being caught off guard. “Who’s there?”

“It’s-” Zayn reverses his charm quickly, Liam physically relaxing once the source of the voice is being revealed as a familiar face. “It’s just me.” His tone stays quiet, well aware that there’s still a very real possibility of getting caught by Jones or someone else. “Stand down soldier.”

“Nearly gave me a heart attack,” Liam says as he puts his wand back in his pocket. “What’re you doing out? It’s late.”

“Niall had this-“ Zayn stops himself, thinking that it was probably for the best that Liam knew as little about hijinxes that didn’t involve him as possible. If he didn’t know of it, he couldn’t have higher ups use his title as a means to go against his friends. By the look of complacency on the other’s face, Zayn had guessed right. “Just out for a stroll.” Liam’s grinning at the lie, the way his eyes start to bunch up giving Zayn the courage to say, “I was thinking about you actually.”

Since _he’s_ actually allowed to be out this late, Liam speaks a lot softer than Zayn would have expected. “I was headed back to the common room, my shift’s over.” Chocolate eyes look past the raven and zero in on a stairwell alcove. “Do you wanna go up to the Astronomy Tower and tell me all about what it is you were thinking?”

They’ve got a hint of innuendo, Liam’s words, but the notion only makes Zayn nod with more vigor.

Both boys are quiet as they make their way to the entrance and climb up the last four flights of stairs to the top landing, Zayn’s legs having just about had it from exerting them more in the last fifteen minutes than he had the entire month.

“So your walk was exciting then?” Liam, barely winded, walks to one of the Tower’s edges to take in the view, while Zayn sits down in front of the large metal circular instruments used for mapping the stars - a safe distance from the longest fall on Hogwarts property.

“A little _too_ exciting, hence the disillusionment,” Zayn answers, going with skirting the line between what was real and what lent itself to his lie. “I was hoping I’d run into you…”

Liam turns his head to look at Zayn, who’s already staring back at him from his place on the steps. Forgetting all about the clear display of the stars, he ventures over to take a seat next to the other. “Could have just written me.”

“I thought about it.” Not bothering to scoot over any, Zayn pays attention to how they’re nearly shoulder to shoulder when the male situates himself. It brings a sense of comfort, and even though their close proximity isn’t something he’s new too, this warmth feels different. “But this is much more romantic, don’t you think? Running into each other from fate?” Compared to his pitiful attempts at flirting with Liam so far this year, the question comes out flawlessly, yet Zayn keeps his vision glued on his shoes as he holds his breath.

_Alright, good start Zayn, just keep it steady and no bringing up circumstantial clothing situations._

Liam stretches out his legs, a peaceful demeanor to his being, as well as his words. “I like it when you put it that way.”

Zayn sneaks a restless glance at the boy next to him, noticing that the wizard’s back to looking out at the sky. “Wish it was a full moon, but I’ll take what I can get. Shouldn’t test fate and all that.”

“I like it better this way,” Liam breathes softly, “it makes the stars brighter.”

Zayn’s stuck staring at Liam’s profile, not able to stop his brain from automatically thinking that _he’s_ the brightest thing in sight. Night, day, every waking moment. Thinks that if he paid really close attention, he could probably pick out the reflection of the stars in his eyes, maybe have the guts to say something corny like _your eyes put the stars to shame_.

Liam’s directing his attention back to Zayn, the latter’s heart speeding up at how evident their close proximity is when they’re faced liked this.

Before he has any chance to talk himself out of it, Zayn leans forward the last few centimeters to close any distance between them.

Three years of jumbled up and masked feelings had led to this exact moment, and the fact that Zayn could feel Liam push up against him, the opposite of utter rejection, made him forget how long he had waited.

When they pull away they’re both smiling, but Zayn’s not able to look the other in the eye just yet, instead, casting his line of vision down to the other’s Head Boy badge.

“I thought you were waiting for the right guy to come along?” Liam nearly whispers.

“I was.” And Zayn _does_ whisper. “You’re the _only_ guy.”

He dares to finally look up, and he’s glad he does, because he’s met with a closed eye smile that makes his heart soar; the same one that he’s admired from afar, but now can confidently claim as his doing.

Zayn’s caught off guard by the second kiss, but welcomes it nonetheless as soon as he settles into the feeling. He could definitely get used to this.

A shiver runs down Zayn’s body from the cold, causing him to break away and laugh lightly out of embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t prepared to come up to the highest of altitudes in the middle of the night.” He leans in once more, but Liam only gives him a peck in return.

“You’re freezing,” the Gryffindor notes, worry laced in his voice, “we should go down.”

“No really, I’m ok,” Zayn rushes with frantic, big eyes. “It’s not that bad, come on...” Right hand settling on Liam’s torso, Zayn tries to get the boy to accept his touch and forget his momentary faux pas. To hell with the weather, Zayn would sit through a blizzard for this.

Liam’s clearly amused at how desperate he is, but Zayn’s ok with that as long as he’s not making fun of him. “It _is_ that bad, I’m cold too.” A hand wraps around his own, Zayn feeling that Liam wasn’t lying. “Plus I’ve got class in the morning, we should get going.”

Before Liam stands, Zayn looks between his eyes, trying to see if there’s any room for negotiation. As much as he couldn’t stand when the other three reminded him of the length of time he had sat on his hands, Zayn felt just how long three years could be as he ran through words to say for them to stay in the moment, not return to the real world, but as usual, he waits too long.

He might’ve stood up, but Liam still keeps their hands clasped together, using them as leverage to pull Zayn up along with him.

“Don’t look like that, I’m not going anywhere,” Liam promises, his features as soft and as genuine as his tone. “We’ve got all the time in the world, yeah?”

Zayn knows that he’s right, knows that there’s no need to rush things, but he can’t help himself. Now that the line’s finally been crossed, he can’t help but forget it was ever there to begin with. “Yeah,” he nods with ease.

The two descend the staircase back down to the sixth floor, hands dropping due to the narrow walls, but right as Zayn’s about to step out with Liam, the door’s being closed in his face.

“Mr. Payne?”

Zayn’s heart drops as he hears Professor Jones’ voice, now understanding why Liam hadn’t allowed him to follow.

“Professor Jones, I was just out doing my rounds.”

From the way Liam’s voice didn’t sound as thunderous, Zayn could tell that he must’ve walked away from the door and towards the woman.

“From up the Astronomy Tower?”

“I thought I heard something, but must’ve just been the wind.”

Classic.

“Right, well some students broke into one of the vacant rooms tonight. Some might still be wandering the halls, so if you see any, send them my way.”

“Sure thing. I’m heading back to the common rooms soon.”

Zayn makes out both sets of footsteps walking away, but he waits until he feels his pocket heat up to know for sure.

**_She went downstairs but I’d charm yourself just to be safe_ **

Doing as he’s advised, Zayn looks down at his torso to make sure that he’s fully camouflaged before quietly stepping into the corridor and slinking down the hall.

The second he’s in front of the bronze eagle he’s dropping the charm, grateful that he hadn’t had any other run ins for the night, wanted or not. Zayn’s exhausted, both from the workout and multiple emotional rollercoasters, but before he’s settling into bed he writes back to Liam.

**_Made it to my room safe, thanks to you_ **

**_Don’t thank me, thank fate_ **

\---

Zayn’s the first to breakfast that morning, which he wouldn’t normally be all that surprised about, but considering he was most likely up the latest out of all of them, he is. The Ravenclaw’s pouring himself a glass of orange juice when he sees the other four enter the Great Hall.

“Sullivan how’s your back?” Louis shouts across the hall to the Hufflepuff table where the named boy is sat, cackling at the middle finger that he’s being given.

It’s just like Louis to do Niall’s boasting for him, the Irishman confident in his skills like a Slytherin would be, but not finding it necessary to gloat about them after he’s already proven himself.

Rather than sit down with the others, Liam drops his things down and lets them know he’ll be right back, Zayn’s eyes watching his retreating figure.

“You didn’t get caught last night, did you?” Niall asks, blue eyes swimming with uneasiness at not wanting to hear the wrong answer. “I’d feel terrible if ya did.”

“No, used the disillusionment charm,” Zayn replies, but he wants to tell Niall that it wouldn’t be his fault even if he _had_ gotten caught - he knew the risks and was the one who put himself there to begin with. “Found Liam while I was at it, too.”

“I told you we should’ve used that,” Harry mumbles bitterly to Louis.

“We made it down to the basement just fine,” the boy maintains while he grabs a piece of toast. “Is that the reason you look extra thrilled this morning?” He looks to Zayn expectantly, referring to his comment about Liam.

Niall glances up from where he’s piling his plate with eggs to examine the boy in blue. “Yeah, you don’t look half asleep like usual.”

“Cheers Niall,” Zayn says deadpan, fork scraping the bottom his plate from being provoked. “Just for that, I’m not going to give any of you the details of what happened.”

Louis’ eyebrows shoot up in surprise, “wait, are you telling me something _actually_ happened? Zayn Malik, did you ask him out?”

Knowing he had the upper hand for once, Zayn shrugs arrogantly. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Niall, look what you’ve done!” Louis exclaims dramatically, flicking the other’s fork midair and making its contents fall back onto the wizard’s plate. “We’ve waited three bloody years for this and you just had to bring up the obvious. Now he’s gone all cocky.” He grabs his own butter knife and starts to spread marmalade on his bread, affronted. “As if he wasn’t stumbling over his own feet around the boy for all that time…”

Zayn glares at Louis for the last part, even if it was completely true.

“We all know he hates getting up in the morning, and it shows.” Niall goes for a second try on his forkful of eggs. “How was I supposed to know it was taboo to bring it up?”

“Well, based on the fact that Zayn doesn’t feel the need to take Defense Against the Dark Arts with the rest of us because Liam will always be there to protect him, we can just ask the boy ourselves in forty five minutes.” Having found his sarcastic groove once again, Louis grins victoriously around his toast.

So much for having leverage.

“I’ve got to meet with Vector about tutoring after this, but I’ll tell you after Ancient Runes, how about that?” Zayn counters, choosing to stick to the original topic rather than give any validity to what’s being accused of him and his choice of classes.

“And what about us?”

Zayn stares undisturbed at the two looking back at him. “House. Boyfriend.” He points to Niall and Harry respectively. “Anything Louis knows, the two of you know.” Both boys seem to accept the answer and go back to eating.

“What’d I miss?” Liam asks, taking a sweet roll before sitting down.

No one says anything straight away, but Zayn knows that could just be a product of the calm before the storm, so he sends the rest of them a look of warning as a precaution.

“Niall being the one to break the life long silence on how ugly Zayn usually looks in the morning,” Louis volunteers, pleased that he still had something to mock Zayn with if they weren’t allowed to talk about Liam.

“I didn’t say that!” Niall proclaims, looking to Liam with a compensatory expression. “I said he usually looks exhausted because he hates waking up early. His cheekbones make up for it.”

Ever since puberty hit, it was the running joke/compliment of the group so Zayn was used to it, but he wasn’t used to hearing Liam comment, “they’re not bad, are they?”

“It’s not even nine,” Louis groans into his mug. “Save the flirting, I’m trying to eat.”

“Now you know how I’ve felt since the second week of school. _Six years ago_.”

Zayn smirks down at his food, ignoring Harry’s _‘heeeey’,_ and wishing he could kiss Liam for such a comment, but more so for the adorable both-eyes-closing-at-the-same-time attempt at a wink that the boy sends his way.

\---

After his meeting with Professor Vector, Zayn headed up to the library to work on some homework, knowing that it’d be pretty quiet since a majority of lower year students were in classes. Regardless, Zayn settled himself into one of the back corners to eliminate the risk of being disturbed altogether, but Louis had asked where he was on the group card, so sadly his positioning wouldn’t be fool proof for much longer. With Niall mentioning he wanted to take a nap after being wiped from the night before, and Harry and Liam being in classes of their own, Zayn figures that one’s better than four.

“Now’s one of those times that I’m grateful you’re a creature of habit.” Louis pulls up a seat across from Zayn, noticing that the desk was small, but could probably fit him if a few books were removed. “Didn’t have to go searching this whole place trying to find you.”

Another reason Zayn likes the corner: he doesn’t have to worry about being silent. If anyone came to the surrounding shelves they would hear them, but for the most part, just one notch down from normal speaking voices was fine.

“Did Bones say anything about last night?” While it was unlikely that the professor had proof that any of them were involved in something that revolved around her class’ subject, Zayn thought he’d at least ask.

“Nah,” Louis says as he stacks a few of Zayn’s books on top of each other to make room for his own. “I don’t even think Jones knows what went on, just that some students were hanging out past curfew.” He pauses as he searches for his quill, “enough stalling though. The boys and I were on our best behaviour and didn’t go asking Liam a thing, so spill.”

It’s not as if Zayn’s putting off telling Louis about their kiss on purpose, but the more time he had to himself to think over the fuss they made about his insinuation that morning, the more he realizes that maybe he’s being really juvenile over it all. At the end of the day it was just a few kisses. It’s not like they slept together or anything.

“Alright,” he starts after taking a deep breath, “so after we all split up I sort of just ran. I don’t think I’ve ran that much in ages. My shoes were really noisy too and I-” Zayn stops, confused when Louis sets his head down on one of his books and closes his eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Was out late last night,” Louis fake yawns. “Wake me up when you get to the good part.”

Zayn pulls one of the books out from under him.

“Fuck,” the boy snaps, sitting up straight again and rubbing the side of his head.

“As I was saying,” Zayn says with more than a hint of bitterness in his voice. “I had to stop to catch my breath and on the way to the common room I ran into Liam. He just got off his patrol, so we went up to the Astronomy Tower-”

“All the way?” Louis’ eyebrows rise at the amount of exercise that equated to. “Shit, maybe _you’re_ the one who needs a nap.”

“And _I’m_ the one who’s making the story longer than it has to be?” Without waiting for the standard sarcastic response, Zayn keeps on with his explanation. “We were on about fate and-” He sees Louis’ eyes gain a glint of humour and he’d be willing to bet that the boy’s dying to say something about how cheesy that was. “Don’t! I know what you’re thinking, but don’t even say a word. Be happy that we kissed, not how it came about.”

Louis smirks at how easy he was for his friend to read, but he obeys and keeps the jab to himself. “I’m free all day to accept apologies.”

Zayn’s willing to bite. “For what?”

“For telling you that he wasn’t ever going to reject you.” The Slytherin’s too proud of himself for Zayn to do anything other than roll his eyes. “So what’d he say when you asked him out?”

The younger wizard runs a hand through his quiff while taking a deep breath. “About that…”

“You’re kidding me,” Louis responds, practically pulling at his own hair.

“Can we not focus on the positives? Did you miss the part where we kissed after three years? In fact, I’d go so far as to say I eliminated the boring pleasantries of the first date all together,” Zayn points out with an expression that challenges the boy to argue against him. “True or true?”

Louis’ eyes flick over to the shelves nearby where someone’s looking for a book before landing back on the boy in front of him. “Fine, but I’m not checking the goal off my list until there’s a date and label attached.”

Zayn wants to ask why it’s so important for Louis to get them together. Isn’t he the one who should be that incessant? What’s better than asking is _not_ asking when it comes to Louis however, Zayn learned that a long time ago.

“Slow and steady wins the race.”

The slogan was one that he had adopted early on for his journey towards eventually letting Liam in on his feelings. It was also one of Louis’ least favourite string of words in the universe. Now that it was coming true, Zayn couldn’t imagine doing anything other than sitting back with a smug smile of his own and listening to Louis gripe.


	2. Chapter 2

All Liam can talk about for the next two days is his scrimmage game against Slytherin, that is, if Zayn even sees him at all. The wizard has taken it upon himself to hold longer practices, which means any free time he has ends up going to revising. It’s not exactly what Zayn had expected their first few days after entering the murky waters of not-entirely-normal-best-friendship-anymore territory to be like, but he’s had plenty to keep him occupied as well, so by the time Friday rolls around he’s just glad he can finally see Liam without any distractions.

As soon as Liam’s History of Magic class let out that afternoon, Zayn headed down to the quidditch pitch to help set up for the game. He doesn’t really do much other than set out water and take the trunk of enchanted balls out to the middle of the stadium, but ever since Liam had become team captain the year before, he liked being able to insert himself into this part of the male’s life and show that he cared about the other’s interest.

Laying flat on the grassy field, eyes closed, Zayn relaxes as the sun alternates between peeking out from the clouds and hiding behind them. There’s a slight breeze, but his ears are only tuned into the sound of Liam flying through the air, warming up his muscles before anyone else shows up. Any time that he makes a quick dive there’s a soft whistle, Zayn paying extra attention for the moment that it ends to signal that Liam caught himself just in time.

It’s so peaceful that Zayn nearly falls asleep to the sound of Liam’s broomstick, but he’s peeling open an eye when he hears, and feels, the boy land next to him.

“Getting a tan?” Liam inquires as he throws himself onto the grass next to Zayn.

“With all these layers on? Hardly.” Zayn turns his head to stare at the boy, noticing the slight sheen that his forehead now had from conditioning. Even with as many hours of practice that he put in regularly, Liam’s diligence showed with the extra effort he insisted on making. It was how Zayn knew that he’d get scouted by someone; any athlete willing to go above and beyond was usually the one who turned heads. “You sounded good,” he commends.

“If sound counted, then Niall would give me a run for my money with that guitar of his,” Liam chuckles. “Thanks for helping me set up by the way.”

Zayn’s neck hurts from the strain, so he goes back to looking up at the sky. “I’m Gryffindor’s unofficial water boy, it’s my job.”

“If Teddy heard you say that he might kick you out of your dorm for the rest of the year,” Liam teases, but the joke wasn’t all that far from the truth.

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Zayn replies, his fingers pulling at the grass underneath them. “When you beat us last year for the Cup he wouldn’t talk to me for days after he found out I went to your guys’ after party.”

“We’re a package deal. He should know that by now.”

Anyone who knew either of them, and within a week of _getting to know_ the pair if a person didn’t already, could figure out that that was the case. Hearing Liam say it out loud however, that made Zayn’s lips twist up in arrogance at the possessive claim.

“ _Everyone_ should know that,” he confirms in absoluteness. Pausing, the older boy thought about if he should bring up their unusual lack of contact since the night at the Tower, ultimately deciding that it couldn’t hurt. “But maybe not this week. I’ve barely seen you since Tuesday night.”

Zayn hears Liam sigh and shift next to him, which causes him to tilt his head to the side once more so he can interpret the male’s facial expressions along with his words.

“I know, and I’m sorry.” Liam’s voice is filled with remorse and now Zayn’s wishing that he would’ve just let it go. “This isn’t even the first real game of the season, but I’d rather be prepared and play like it is instead of writing it off.” The Ravenclaw’s about to tell him that he understands, he doesn’t have to explain himself anymore, but Liam keeps talking. “I lost track of time with everything and I’m sorry. You’re taking more classes than I am and you’re still out here helping me.”

Zayn can’t help but jump in after hearing that. “Really Li, don’t beat yourself over it, it’s fine.”

“No, it’s not.” They’re laying down, but Liam still does his best to shake his head for more emphasis. “I’ll try harder, ok?”

There’s no use in arguing over something so menial, so Zayn replies with a simple “ok.”

“I missed you,” Liam confesses quietly, but with so much raw sincerity that Zayn doesn’t want to ask him to repeat it and chance tainting the meaning he gave the three words the first time.

“I missed you too.” Zayn’s voice is hardly above a whisper, but when he feels Liam’s lips smile against his own seconds later, he knows the other heard him just fine.

The kiss is short, but it’s given Zayn the energy that he missed out on the past few days.

“If we can make this part of my pre-game ritual this season, I think Teddy might kick you out for a second year in a row, because there’s no way I’m going to lose with these.” Liam’s leaning in for a second kiss, pulling Zayn in by his vest that’s no doubt got grass stains on it now.

Sarcastic Zayn wants to point out the fact that his team won just fine without his lips last year, but In The Moment Zayn loses all need to be satirical. “If you win the cup I’ll have to stay at yours since it’ll be your fault I’ll be homeless.”

Liam bites his bottom lip, eyes boring into Zayn’s with intensity. “Is that a threat, or a promise?”

This seductive side of Liam that Zayn’s uncovering for the first time, puts his various fantasies throughout the years to shame. “Guess you’ll have to wait and find out.”

With the way Liam nearly shoves him onto his back with a forceful kiss, Zayn thinks he got the answer right.

It takes two hours for the whistle, but Zayn’s _still_ thinking about the captain’s lips.

**Gryffindor: 220**

**Slytherin: 60**

He’s glad that Liam had won, but he was more thankful that it hadn’t taken all that long so they could make their regular dinner time.

He and Elijah are stretching and getting ready to leave, the younger boy sitting in on the scrimmage to witness his first real game be played out, when Liam flys over to where they’re stood in the mostly empty stands.

“Good game Liam,” Elijah congratulates while eyeing his expensive broomstick.

“Thanks.” The Gryffindor’s slightly out of breath, but Zayn still thinks he’s stunning all the same. “I’m gonna stick around and talk to the team. Don’t wait for me to eat.”

“You deserve a break, you’ve been out here for hours,” Zayn contends with a disapproving look.

“We only won because they’ve got a new seeker and ours is more experienced. It was too close. If it wasn’t for the 150 points from the snitch we might’ve lost,” Liam argues, looking back at the pitch that’s now empty. “Thanks for coming - both of you. I should get going though.”

Zayn’s still not on board with Liam working this hard, and surprisingly not for selfish reasons. The male really needed to pace himself. Regardless, Zayn wasn’t in a position to tell him how to live his life, so he kept to a single nod. “Alright, I’ll see you later then.”

After splitting from Elijah in the Great Hall, Zayn relays Liam’s message to the rest of the guys.

“Ok, but did you ask him out?” Louis presses resiliently. Zayn swears this is almost worse than being taunted for not doing anything about his crush in the first place.

“How about this: if I send to the group that…” He pauses trying to come up with a message that wouldn’t be blatantly obvious, but also wouldn’t seem too out of character for him at the same time. “I need the Charms reading for the week. Then you’ll know that I asked him out and I won’t run the risk of going insane from you pestering me about it. Deal?” Out of all of them Zayn was the _least_ likely to forget what pages were assigned for a class, but it was the only one they all shared, thereby eliminating any possible suspicion as to why he’d be asking the whole group.

Louis looks like he’s about to protest, but relents knowing that it’s an ok trade off. “Deal.”

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Niall speaks up, pleased that they can move on to something other than Louis’ favourite topic of the term. “Zayn, can you show me how to make a paper airplane?”

Harry whips his head to the left, face filled with horror. “Muggles trust an airplane made of paper? Are they mad?”

Instantly Zayn’s spirits are lifted, motioning for Niall to hand over a piece of his parchment. “Calm down, it’s just a toy.”

As he’s going to bed that night, Zayn reflects on how relieved Harry had been to hear that humans didn’t actually travel long distances in an aircraft made out of paper. Throughout his entire demonstration, the other three stayed captivated by the designs that Zayn made, but even in amazement at the muggle novelty, Louis still argued that it was _‘ludacris that they have such boring things to play with’_.

Liam didn’t shown up to dinner by the time they had left to witness the lesson, but he had learned about paper airplanes from Zayn ages ago. Even then, Zayn still missed his commentary, and couldn’t help but worry that he wasn’t taking his advice about slowing it down in the least.

Reaching over to check his two cards one last time before turning over, Zayn’s surprised to find that Liam’s red card is warm and wonders how long it’s been since the message was delivered.

**_Sorry I didn’t make it to dinner with you guys. Just wanted to say thanks again for coming to the game and for your good luck_ **

Ah the amorous bet. He certainly hadn’t forgotten about that. How could he with the way Liam had launched himself at Zayn in response to the agreement of it? Knowing that the other male hadn’t written it off as just banter made Zayn feel a lot more at ease with his absence for the night.

**_You’re one step closer to owing me a place to sleep..._ **

\---

It only takes one step out of the study room he was in for Zayn to run into another body and drop all his things. Instead of cursing, he closes his eyes and just takes a second to compose himself. It’s been a long day and this was the last-

“Zayn?”

Harry? As soon as he opens his eyes, Zayn’s met with the light spirited Hufflepuff.

“Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going, it’s my fault,” Harry apologizes, not even blinking an eye before getting down to retrieve what had fallen.

The movement made Zayn snap out of it and get down on his own knees to help. It may have genuinely been Harry’s fault this go around, but he had known the boy long enough to know that he passed out apologies like there was no tomorrow and with as tender a heart as he had, he didn’t deserve to have Zayn just stand there and watch.

“It’s alright mate,” he reassures while stacking his books back up into a neat pile. “The one day I don’t use my bag...” Standing up, it dawns on Zayn that Harry’s never usually on this side of the castle. “What’re you doing up here?”

“Walked Louis to Runes.” The lanky male points to the direction he’s headed, Zayn nodding that he’s going the same way and falling into step next to him. “Now I’m just going to cram for the next forty five minutes while he’s in class.” Harry looks behind him at the door where Zayn had come out of. “What about you?”

“Tutoring,” Zayn replies blandly. “This year’s even worse than last. I know Arithmancy isn't for everyone, but between you and me, that kid doesn’t stand a chance.”

Harry’s too kind hearted to laugh at anyone’s hardships, but he does seem a bit sympathetic towards Zayn’s situation as they go down the stairs. “You’re doing your part, they’ve got to do theirs.” How that level headed of an answer came out of someone who was dating Louis, Zayn had no idea. “Want to come with me to the library?”

The Ravenclaw seldom ever said no to that question, especially not in the thick of the term. “Yeah, sure.”

Even though the workload was heavier, one massive perk of being a sixth or seventh year was having fewer classes, which meant more freedom and empty hallways during the day. There were a few stray students, but they were too far away to hear any of their conversation.

“Can I ask you a question?” Zayn adjusts his grip on his heap of books. “About you and Louis?”

Harry tilts his head to get a good look at Zayn, though the latter isn’t sure if it’s because of his question or to make sure he doesn’t drop his books again. “Shoot.”

“I don’t need a whole lecture on how you two got together, trust me,” Zayn warns sharply. “I was just wondering, like...was it just effortless? From the outside it sorta seemed that way, but you never know what goes on behind closed doors.”

They’re waiting for the staircases to stop shifting before they can start down the last flight to the fourth floor. “I know you guys get annoyed any time it’s brought up, but we were boyfriends after a week and a half,” Harry denotes. “I think that should answer your question, no?”

Zayn’s about to take his first step, but he jumps back as the staircase decides to make a last second change. Frowning, he leans against the nearby railing as they wait again. “Simplistically yeah, but…” Zayn trails off, avoiding eye contact with his friend.

Maybe he was searching for an answer that didn’t exist. One that would make him more comfortable and at ease about whatever was going on with him and his best friend, because the longest relationship in school history didn’t come as easy as it seemed either. Except that it had.

“Is this about you and Liam?”

Harry’s staring at him with another sympathetic expression, making that two in less than ten minutes - a new record for Zayn. “I know I’m on about slow and steady and all that, but I don’t know. Now that things have happened, I don’t like the feeling of not knowing what’s going on.” The staircase has finally realigned itself the way the two need, but Zayn eyes it carefully before fully committing to his first step. “It’s not like I expected for things to happen over night, but now…”

“I don’t blame you if you thought that it would,” Harry says after the male fails to continue his thoughts.

Zayn peeks over at the younger boy, flicking his hair out of his eyes, the flat style one that he had decided on for the day in hopes to get a certain someone’s attention. “You wouldn’t?”

Harry shakes his head and holds the door to the library open for the both of them, switching his voice to a whisper once they were through. “No, not at all. Louis and I didn’t know each other, but you and Liam have six years of history. There’s not much to figure out, either he likes you or he doesn’t. Maybe I’m black and white like that, but there’s not much room for grey in my opinion.”

Zayn thinks about what Harry’s said as they make their way to their usual desk. “I really did think that I’d want to take things slow if the day ever came, but it’s like the more that we flirt or kiss without any clarity, the more sleep I lose.” He sets down his books on the wooden table, slumping down into the chair across from Harry. “I’ve never been like this with someone before. Every person that I’ve dated, except Willow, or had feelings for has always been a fleeting thing. I always _liked_ that it was casual.”

Harry stretches before taking his seat. “I’m telling you, it’s because this has been a three to six year culmination. Obviously he likes you to some degree, otherwise you wouldn’t be asking me about this.” Reaching into his bag, Harry starts to set up his own books and paper. “Just give it some time. It’s only been a week. Without any sort of definitive talk, I can see how it feels anticlimactic, but take advantage of the fact that it’s going _somewhere_ , and learn how to be ok with yourself wanting it to happen faster than you expected you would. This is Liam we’re talking about. He’s about the opposite of ‘fleeting’ feelings for you as possible.”

“You were doing so well up until the end,” Zayn chastises, running a hand over his face from stress.

“I had to lighten it up,” Harry defends, face turning serious when he settles back into his seat. “You know any time you need to talk, I’m all ears, right?”

Zayn nods, demeanor lightening up at the caring reminder, “yeah, I know. Thanks Harry.”

The Hufflepuff flips through his Herbology textbook to try and find the chapter he needed. “What are friends for?”

\---

For the next three days Zayn surprises himself at how well he handles Liam’s continued spotty absence and his ability to accept whatever form of affection is given to him when they _are_ around one another. At the very least he knows he can count on seeing his best friend at meals, so when Liam doesn’t show up to dinner on Friday night he’s fairly concerned.

“And he hasn’t written you back?” Niall checks as he debates on whether or not to take a second chocolate eclair.

“Niall, if he checks that thing one more time it’ll disintegrate,” Louis says sarcastically, looking up at the clock. “We waited until 7:30 and saw the quidditch team come in half an hour ago, what else are we supposed to do?”

“I’m just gonna go ask Olivia if she’s heard from him,” Zayn thinks aloud, not waiting for any remarks before getting up and walking over to where the Head Girl sat at the Gryffindor table.

There’s no mistaking the way the students all stare at him oddly as soon as he’s standing behind the girl he was looking for. He doesn’t blame them. While he’s always in their common room, it’s rare for Zayn to be seen with other Gryffindor’s save his best friend by his side.

“Excuse me,” Zayn pipes up, looking sheepish as soon as practically the entire section who’s backs were towards him, turned around.

Olivia hardly took any time at all recognizing who he was. “Zayn,” she smiles graciously. “You alright?”

He nods at the british greeting, “yeah, I just- Do you know where Liam is? He didn’t show up to dinner with the rest of the team.” Zayn’s eyes glance over to all the pairs staring back at him, a slight blush rising to his cheeks when he sees that they’re all female. Any other year and he might have flirtatiously worked the crowd, but that wasn’t of interest anymore to Zayn. All he wanted to know was if Liam was ok.

“He’s been revising a lot recently,” Olivia replies while pushing a few fallen strands of hair behind her ear. “Have you checked the library?”

“No, but I was going to after we left here.” Looking at the audience who’s still watching him, Zayn nods. “Sorry to interrupt.” He directs his attention back to the Head Girl, “and thanks.”

“No worries,” Olivia smiles before turning back around.

Back in front of their end of the Slytherin table, Zayn lets the others know that he’s going to check the library, so he’ll catch them later.

“Let us know when you find him!” Harry cries once Zayn’s walking away.

The entire walk up to the fourth floor Zayn tries to distract himself by wondering how he could create magical lifts, and making a mental note to write it down in the notebook where kept scattered thoughts and future research ideas. He knew the school was ancient, but this was just plain ridiculous. How he survived nearly seven years going up and down these things was beyond Zayn.

For a Friday night he was surprised to see as many students in the library as there were. _Midterms_ , he guessed. Without thinking twice Zayn made his way over to where the five of them usual studied, but found the large table empty. The wizard did his best to ignore the sinking in his stomach at the sight, but then a thought occurred to him.

“Thank god,” Zayn mumbles to himself as soon as he sees Liam’s hunched figure in what was usually _Zayn’s_ corner spot.

The closer he got, the more he assumed that Liam would hear him and turn to look, but Zayn had to literally pull out the seat across from him before the male even realized someone was there.

Taking in Liam’s distressed appearance, Zayn sighs. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

The male sets down his quill. “Why didn’t you just-” When he picks up the discarded blue index card, he realizes it’s much warmer than normal due to Zayn having sent more than one message. “I’m sorry.” Zayn thinks he’s heard Liam apologize more in the last week and a half than Harry, and that’s saying something.

Looking at the books and sheets of parchment, Zayn notices it’s not just one thing that Liam’s been working on, it’s a whole lot of everything - prefect schedules, quidditch plays, his Charms project.

“I’m really really sorry. I just wanted to get ahead of things before they start to pile up,” Liam’s explaining and Zayn fights to keep his mouth shut from saying that he’s already got himself there.

The Gryffindor runs both hands through his damp, naturally curly hair - something that only happens when Liam’s too lazy to perform his straightening spell, not when he gets out of his post-quidditch practice shower.

“Hey,” Zayn starts softly, reaching across the table to take Liam’s hands away from where they’re stuck in his hair. “It’s all gonna be alright, yeah? I understand that you’ve got a lot to do, but you can’t just not eat. Especially not after quidditch practice. Come on,” Zayn tugs at Liam’s wrist. “The Hall doesn’t close for another 15 minutes, we can still get you something. Or Harry can steal something from the house elves in the kitchen. You’ll feel better.”

“I had a second year go down and get me some food when I got here.” Liam lets his fingers lace with the other’s, Zayn caught up in the hold so much that he can’t even bring himself to mention that Liam should have asked _him_ to deliver the food.

“I should yell at you for bringing food anywhere near a book,” Zayn tries to scold, but the smile threatening to show itself doesn’t do a good job at helping emphasize his tone.

The joke gets Liam to crack a smile of his own, which is a relief for Zayn to see. “But you won’t.”

“I won’t,” he repeats fondly. Liam’s papers come into view again once Zayn looks down at their joined hands. “You really do need to take a break though. Can’t you worry about this tomorrow? When you don’t have any classes and can sleep in before practice?” Against his better judgement Zayn pulls his hands away to pick up one of the quidditch play sheets. “I thought playing was supposed to help you destress?”

Liam leans back in his chair, rocking back and forth on only two of its legs. “It does - when I’m playing. But as soon as I step off the pitch it’s like reality hits again.”

Zayn tries to follow the arrows and scribbles on the paper while he’s listening to Liam, but it’s too messy for him to make out what any of it means, so he tosses it back on the table and gives the boy his attention.

“And I know you’re going to blame the scouts, but I think it’s just everything.” Liam lets his chair fall back on all fours. “Maybe for once quidditch won’t be my stress reliever this year.”

None of the group would admit it to his face, but it was clear that the glue holding Liam together was quidditch. Harry had Louis and visa versa, Niall had guitar, and Zayn had Liam. Without any of their vices, who knows how they’d manage. Apparently for Liam, not so well.

“We’ll find you something else,” Zayn reassures him while shrugging out of his robe and setting it on the back of his chair like he would a jacket. “What’s something that makes you forget about the time? We’ll start there.”

“You.”

It’s sudden, and unapologetically so. There’s no way that Zayn can keep the redness in his cheeks from showing, glad that the dim lighting in the library aids in keeping it semi-hidden. “Well that’s not exactly what I had in mind,” he chuckles nervously, untucking his shirt from his trousers in a relaxed fashion. “But like I always say, I’m here to help.”

Yes, the lighting isn't the best, specifically in their corner where the only real source comes from the table lamp, but Zayn doesn’t miss the mischievous glint in Liam’s eye. “Isn’t that staircase you found third year near here?”

He’s not sure where the boy’s going with this, but he’s intrigued. “Yeah, it’s one of the reasons I sit back here besides it being secluded - just in case. Why?”

“Show me,” Liam orders while getting out of his seat with a lot more energy than Zayn would have thought he had a few moments ago.

Checking to make sure no one’s around to take their stuff, Zayn leads the way to the shelf of dictionaries not far from where they were sat. Looking over his shoulder, he does one last sweep of their surroundings before pushing forward into the furniture. The right half of the shelf fits into the wall, leaving about a meter of space for a body to entire the stairwell that’s been revealed to its left.

Hurrying in, Zayn waits for Liam to follow, watching as the male pushes the shelf back to its rightful position, causing a concrete wall to appear in its place.

“Lumos,” Zayn whispers and the space lights up, stairs leading down to the classroom he had pointed out to Elijah early on in the year not far from where they stood.

“Remind me again how you found this?” Liam asks in awe, eyes roaming the walls around them.

“You don’t want to know,” Zayn promises. Hearing his voice echo ever so much, Zayn nods to the other’s waist. “Cast Lumos.”

Pulling out his wand, Liam does as he’s told, Zayn eliminating his own light and pointing his wand down the stairwell to perform the sound proofing imperturbable charm. Liam scoots out of the way so that he can do the same to the wall that they just came through.

“You’re an actual genius,” the younger wizard praises, using his normal speaking volume now that he knew it was safe to do so.

“What does that make you?” Zayn counters as he put his wand away.

“Lucky.”

Before he’s able to process what’s going on, Liam’s light goes out and Zayn feels himself being pushed up against the wall, a hand behind his back to soften the blow. Zayn’s eyes are having a hard time adjusting to the darkness, but that doesn’t matter because in a matter of seconds they’re closing from instinct as lips find his. And yeah, he could get on board with this being Liam’s new de-stressing technique in a split second.

By now Zayn’s accustomed to how Liam’s lips fit against his own, but tonight they’re frantic, urgent like they haven’t been before. It’s a pace that has Zayn turned on, to say the least, and he thinks there’s no way he’d survive them going back to just being platonic friends after having experienced this.

The two stick to snogging, Zayn getting brave and curling a fist into the other’s jumper after the first minute, but it’s got nothing on Liam’s boldness as he trails his lips down Zayn’s jawline and neck. At this point the raven doesn’t even care if his erratic heartbeat is evident at his jugular, he just wants to see what Liam has in mind as he pulls at Zayn’s tie, undoing the first few buttons of his shirt and pushing the now loose material away from his collarbone.

The second Zayn feels Liam’s teeth nip at the skin he’s exposed, his fist tightens around the wool. Shaky breaths are all that make up the compact space, but once Liam’s tongue swipes over the marks he’s made and lips start to suck at the skin, a soft whine from Zayn adds into the mix. Liam doesn’t seem like he knows what he wants despite his confidence, because after only a few seconds he’s back to unbuttoning Zayn’s shirt and kissing down the boy’s chest as it becomes available.

Zayn’s forced to let go of his hold on Liam’s own clothes as the male continues south. With this being so unplanned, he wonders just how far Liam wants to take things. All the way seemed out of the question, but a handful more centimeters and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stick with just kissing.

With the last button undone, Liam doesn’t push the piece of clothing off him like Zayn would have expected. Instead, he goes back to attaching his lips to Zayn’s, pinning him against the wall harder by pushing their groins together. It’s enough to have Zayn moan into his mouth and feel himself start to react at the aggressive pace.

Liam keeps up with his movements, and it doesn’t take long before Zayn can feel how turned on he is as well.

There’s a hand starting to undo his trousers, but the quick fingers make Zayn pull away. “Wait.” Liam’s hands freeze, body stiffening along with them. “No, no, it’s not bad,” Zayn quickly clarifies, relaxing when he feels Liam do the same. “Before we do...whatever it is we’re going to do.” He inhales deeply, “I want to know if you’ll go out with me.”

Now Liam fully relaxes, a little too much if Zayn was being honest. “Bit of a rank time to be asking now, don’t you think?” The Gryffindor laughs lightly, sneaking in a few neck kisses while he can.

Zayn’s too hot to be embarrassed, but he does find it in himself to hit Liam’s arm in annoyance. “Look, we’ve been dancing around something and now this…”

If he could see Liam’s face he knew there would be an arrogant smirk on his lips based on his response of, “now _what_?”

_Bloody Liam._

“I just want to get the formalities out of the way before anything goes below the belt,” Zayn says sharply, a huge difference to the anxious tone of his last words.

“For someone who’s about to get a blow job you’ve sure got a lot to say,” Liam teases charmingly.

Zayn’s glad they’re in the dark because he’s sure he’s beet red at how blunt his best friend was being. Thank god he didn’t know of this seductive side of Liam before, he definitely wouldn’t have lasted three years under the radar like he had.

A moment of courage comes over him and he reaches between Liam’s legs, squeezing what he’s met with. “Is it a yes, or a no?”

He hears a sharp inhale and stifling moan at the sudden contact, followed by a short “yes! After the first game we can go out properly.” How Liam could still think straight enough to consider his schedule, was beyond Zayn, but he kept the pressure where it was for a few extra moments as a form of resentful jealousy for having the skill.

As soon as Zayn let up on his groping, Liam was back to his previously interrupted job of undoing the trousers in front of him.

This wouldn’t be his first blow job, but it certainly would be from a man, and that alone made Zayn nervous. Add on the fact that it was the bloke he was in love with for the past three years and he didn’t know what to do with himself.

Once Liam pulls him out from his boxer briefs, Zayn leans his head back against the wall. He can feel the other’s rough fingers on him now, and it’s not the soft touch he was expecting, but maybe testosterone and hours gripping a quidditch broom does that to your hands.

Zayn only experiences a few generous tugs before he feels Liam get on his knees and the idea in itself was something straight out of a dream - and not metaphorical ones either, many very, very real ones.

Even though he’s soundproofed their environment, Zayn still bites his bottom lip to keep his moans from coming out too loudly. The licks and softness of Liam’s lips mixed with the noises their making are a lot for Zayn to handle at once. It’s been a while since he’s been in this position and so he isn’t sure what to do with his hands, but it seems right to put them in Liam’s hair.

He just barely grips the curls, but it immediately causes a moan to come from the other male, subsequent vibrations shooting down Zayn’s length that results in his grip tightening and hips canting upwards at the pleasure.

“Fuck Liam...” The phrase comes out a lot more like a strangled whine than coherent words.

It’s hardly been a couple of minutes, but Zayn can already feel himself start to unravel from inexperience. He should be worried about making a fool of himself by coming too soon, but Liam knows he’s never been with another man before, so he’ll blame it on that.

“Li…” Zayn tugs on his hair a bit harder to send him the message, but it only causes the boy to moan once more. Likes to have his hair pulled, note taken.

“Seriously, I-” He doesn’t even finish his sentence, the air stolen from him as Liam picks up his pace and places a hand around what he can’t fit in his mouth to help coax him to his orgasm faster. It works too, because Zayn’s spilling into Liam’s mouth in a matter of seconds, teeth sinking deep into his bottom lip to lesson whatever he can of the filthy sounds coming out of him.

Zayn’s too out of it to really register that Liam’s standing up again until he feels full lips against his cheek, a final shiver racking his body. He can tell that the male’s hesitant on whether or not he’d be okay with tasting himself, and _that_ part Zayn hasn’t done before, but he’s open to it, so he places his right hand on Liam’s cheek to guide their lips together.

“I thought you were the one who needed de-stressing, not me?” Zayn asks rhetorically after they pull away, taking the moment to pull his trousers back up and re-adjust himself. “Let me be the one to help like I was meant to in the first place.”

Liam tries to shake his head, but Zayn’s already got his lips attached to his neck, making the gesture difficult. “It’s ok. That was enough, really.”

The boy’s breathless voice was already enough to prove his words a lie, but Zayn palms him through his trousers for added effect. “Doesn’t feel that way.”

Zayn takes advantage of the skin he’s allowed access to thanks to Liam tilting his head to the side, but the male makes it difficult to leave a mark since he keeps talking.

“I know.” His words stop once Zayn starts to lick towards his birthmark, only picking up again when his trousers are being unbuttoned swiftly. “But you’ve never…”

_Never done this before._

It almost makes Zayn stop in his tracks, slightly worried that Liam doesn’t want to be his first or that he thinks Zayn’s only doing this because he felt like he needed to return the favour, but he only falters for a second before continuing.

“I want to,” Zayn whispers into Liam’s ear, nibbling on the lobe right after. “Please let me do this for you.” It’s a bit desperate, but at this point he doesn’t care, and he certainly doesn’t think Liam does either if the way he nods quickly in response is anything to go by.

Carefully Zayn switches places with the Gryffindor, making sure not to put them in any danger too close to the stairs.

Going back to undoing his trousers, Zayn mentally psyches himself up full of fake confidence as he pushes the material down Liam’s thighs, lips going back to their work on his lower neck. He can hear Liam lose control of himself the closer that Zayn gets to fulfilling his promise, the low groan that comes when Zayn releases him from his boxers making the Ravenclaw go crazy.

Liam must feel Zayn’s nerves from the way he timidly handles him because he’s soon letting him know that, “you’ll do fine. I’ll tell you if anything’s wrong.”

The words remind Zayn that this is his best friend, the boy he’s grown to trust as such before feelings ever got involved. It’s a comforting reassurance, and gives Zayn the confidence that he needs to continue with his experimental strokes and not worry about screwing up.

Liam’s making sounds he didn’t know another person could make, and it only spurs Zayn on even more, but as a male himself, he can tell that the other has to be nearing a hard that’s painful. After taking a steadying breath, Zayn finds himself on his knees, grateful that Liam doesn’t say anything or make any movement to force him to hurry up. He knows that it must be frustrating, but even writhing against a wall, Liam’s miraculously still his caring self.

With one hand around Liam’s base, Zayn uses it as a guide, taking in as much as he can slowly. Straight away he feels Liam’s fingers find his hair and pull at it desperately, curses audible from up above as well. Both two very good signs.

Zayn uses his other hand to steady himself on Liam’s hip, dragging him in and out of his mouth without moving too fast and risking any discomfort from teeth. He’d been there with a past experience and nearly scared the girl with how loudly he hissed in pain. Liam was not about to feel anything other than pleasure, Zayn was going to be sure of that.

At first the weight on his tongue and unfamiliar taste in his mouth is all that occupies Zayn’s brain, but it doesn’t take too long before he starts to get comfortable and picks up his pace. He knows he’s nowhere near as skilled as Liam, but the small whimpers that he’s producing from the boy are music to Zayn’s ears.

Liam’s mimicking Zayn’s previous movements by gripping his hair tighter as a warning. “You don’t have to-” Air catches in Liam’s throat at a certain twist of the other’s hold. “Oh my god. You can use your hand, just please don’t stop.”

Zayn doesn’t plan on it, but he also wants to follow through with what he started, and that isn’t a handjob.

Trying to remember what Liam had done for him, Zayn squeezes the area his hand’s wrapped around and hastens his movements. He can tell Liam’s struggling to focus on standing up and not let his knees give out by the way he’s quivering, but it only makes Zayn move quicker.

Labored breathing and small moans escalate in volume, but they cut off suddenly, and Zayn can feel Liam come undone. He carries him through the high, captivated as he listens to the satisfied choked out breaths leave what he can only imagine is a slack jaw, rather than the loud orgasm he had expected from Liam. When he lets out his last sigh of pleasure, Zayn holds on to his hips tighter to keep his body from sliding down the wall like it’s threatening.

Zayn swallows what he’s given, his face twisting up in disgust at the bitterness, but not saying a word about it.

Liam’s hands uncurl themselves from Zayn’s hair. “Hey, come here,” he says softly, breathing still uneven.

Pushing himself up off the ground, Zayn uses Liam’s shoulders to steady himself.

“That was really good,” the other male tells him, Zayn wishing nothing more than to be able to see the look on his face. If he had to go by his voice, he’d say it looked like a dopey sort of happy.

“You too,” Zayn replies, kicking himself afterwards at how stupid that sounded and how Liam laughed gently at being able to tell what he was thinking. “I mean, you did a good job too.”

He feels Liam draw him in by the nape of the neck and steal his taste right out of Zayn’s mouth.

They kiss lazily for the next minutes before Liam bites his lip playfully, causing Zayn to pull away. He takes a cautious step back when he realizes Liam needs some space to fasten his trousers, taking the time to button his shirt back up and fix his tie.

“Lumos.”

Zayn squints from the fresh light coming out of his wand, but his hazel eyes widen as soon as he sees what Liam looks like.

His lips are redder than Zayn’s ever seen them, hair disheveled, and there’s a huge love bite forming right next to his birthmark, peeking out from under the shirt collar that Liam was buttoning up to the top to try and hide the mark.

“I can feel it’s there,” he says knowingly when he catches Zayn staring, lopsided grin aimed down at the white linen.

No matter if he could now match the words with a facial expression, the Ravenclaw still panics. “I wasn’t paying attention. I’m sor-“

“Don’t apologize,” Liam cuts him off calmly, looking up when he finishes his work. “I’ll wear it proudly.”

The statement eliminates Zayn’s visceral fear, but before he can feel any sense of satisfaction at his art, the question of how he looks in comparison needs to be answered.

As if he can read his mind, Liam moves forward to help fix Zayn’s hair. “You’re the only one who can see what I did.” He leans forward to whisper into Zayn’s ear, “can think of me every time you undress.” The older boy glares at Liam in affectionate retaliation.

It’s torturous the way these things come so easily to Liam. Zayn’s day will come. In the meantime, he’s moving to the part of the wall where the library bookcase should be waiting.

Putting his ear up to the wall, Zayn listens for any sign that someone is near on the other side. “You good?” He asks, turning back to Liam.

“Yeah,” the boy nods once.

Turning out his light and putting away his wand, Zayn pushes the wall into the library, shimmying through the gap quickly, Liam following suit. They both force the shelf back into place and look around for any possible witnesses.

“Gotta love hidden passageways,” Liam says as he walks back over to where their things were, discarded on the desk. “After that, I think I’m going to take your advice and worry about this tomorrow.”

Zayn smirks as he watches Liam pack up his things, thinking that if he had done that in the first place, they wouldn’t have just completely erased the line between friends and lovers.

Harry was right, what if’s really could be the death of him.

The two part ways when they get to the top of the seventh floor staircase, but not without an exchange of a chaste kiss and Liam thanking him for taking the place as his new guaranteed de-stressor.

Zayn takes a long, hot shower when he gets in, staring at the mark Liam had left on his collarbone in the mirror afterwards and not believing in a million years that what happened that evening would’ve ever been a possibility when he woke up that morning, but he can’t say he’s complaining.

Luckily all his roommates are out, which saves Zayn the hassle of trying to defend himself for going to bed at an early hour on a Friday. Before he falls into a deep love induced coma, Zayn remembers to send one final message.

**_Anyone let me in on the Charms reading? I lost my notes on the page numbers_ **

It feels good to be smug about this. It’s a long time coming, but Zayn thinks he deserves it for one reason or another.

He’s about to set his wand and card down when he gets a response coded with red letters: Liam.

**_Since when do you lose your notes?? Pages 340-65_ **

Followed by a light green response: Niall.

**_Haha, good save Payno_ **

Then a dark green: Louis.

**_!!!_ **

Zayn’s not in the mood and far too comfortable in bed to take the time to decode Louis’ response as anything more than a _‘finally!’_. The real translation can wait until breakfast.

\---

It may be a Saturday, but Louis’ up early to make sure that he corners Zayn before the boy has the chance to bury the whole story of the night prior at breakfast and blame it on being in front of Liam.

Leaning on the rough staircase walls of Ravenclaw Tower, Louis waits for the door to open so he can sneak in. He thought it’d be a pretty short wait, but when it’s nearing fifteen minutes he’s about ready to pull out his group card and tell Zayn to come down from his room, since he knows there’s no use in even attempting to solve the eagle’s riddle.

As if on cue, the door opens and reveals a surprised Elijah, several other first years bumping into him from the sudden halt.

“Mini-Zayn! Perfect timing,” Louis stands up straight from his slouched position, grinning widely at the group.

“Morning Louis,” Elijah greets, though he’s unsure about the nickname that’s being given. “I haven’t seen Zayn today. Do you want me to go get him?”

“No, this was all I needed.” Louis pushes past the shorter crowd and into the common room. “Thanks Elijah!” He makes his way over to one of the couches, hopping over the back to lay down as if he owned the place.

Elijah and his friends watch the Slytherin make himself at home. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go get him? I’m not sure you’re-“

“Elijah, I like you.” Louis doesn’t even look at the boy, just closes his eyes to wait for the sound of footsteps coming down from the dorms. “Don’t make me change my mind.”

He hears the wooden door close without any counter remark, signaling that the young Ravenclaw had taken his advice and left it at that.

Ten minutes later Zayn makes his way down the stairs to the common room, almost missing Louis all together until he saw his head pop up from behind the sofa. “How the fuck did _you_ get in here?”

“Good morning to you too,” Louis reprimands discernibly. “At least your carbon copy had the decency to say that…”

Zayn’s eyebrows furrow at the odd description, but then it hits him. “Elijah let you in?”

Louis can tell that his friend’s already thinking about how he needs to have a talk with the boy. “You know me, I let myself in,” he confesses, not wanting the first year to get in trouble for his own rule breaking. “He offered to go get you, but I shooed him away.” Getting off the couch, Louis made his way to where Zayn was now waiting by the front door. “What’s the worst that can happen? The school can’t kick me out.”

Zayn opens the door for the both of them, making sure that it closes tightly behind him after what Louis’ just done. “If the more you say that, the more it helps you convince yourself that it’s true, then by all means.” They all know that Louis wouldn’t do something bad enough to even come close to getting expelled, but the catch phrase seemed to be another one of his quirks for this school year, so Zayn couldn’t help but put his thoughts on it out there.

“I didn’t come here to be ridiculed,” Louis mutters disgruntled as he starts the descent back down the staircase. “I came here to hear all about your date-prosal.”

When he was getting ready that morning Zayn thought about how he was going to answer the inevitable question that would come from one of them. All five were extremely open with each other, but was it too much to disclose the fact that he had made sure to secure the date before getting blown?

“Turns out he was in the library after all and I just asked him,” Zayn divulges casually, but when he looks over at Louis and sees his look of bored disbelief, he knows he’s going to have to give more than that. “You should have seen how he looked. I know we saw him earlier in the day, but he looked exhausted; from quidditch, from school, just everything.” Louis raises his eyebrows, a signal that he wants Zayn to get on with it. “We messed around to help him relax, and I asked him during so that I could finally have an answer and not just random flirting.”

Now Louis’ more than enticed. “So define this messing around…”

Zayn stares elsewhere, not daring to look directly at Louis, since his facial expression would be a dead giveaway to how shy he felt at the answer. “I’d rather not.”

The Slytherin grins slyly, nudging Zayn with his elbow as they come to the last of the stairs that lead to the ground floor. “Atta boy Zaynie! Took you three years, but I knew you had it in you. And in the library…” He shakes his head earnestly. “Your Ravenclaw heart must’ve really loved that.”

Zayn doesn’t care to correct Louis about the fact that it wasn’t technically _in_ the library, instead, he shoves his hands into his pockets as they walk down the corridor that will guide them to the Entrance Hall.

“So what’d you guys get up to without us?” He attempts at changing the topic, smiling when he hears that it’s made Louis huff out of frustration.

“Fine,” the older boy concedes. “But don’t forget who was the one who pushed you to get there in the first place.”

“Thank you. Is that what you want to hear?” Zayn asks, hoping that the admittance will appease his friend.

“For the rest of time,” Louis confirms in a exultant tone. “To answer your question, we hung out in the Slytherin common room. Harry’s going to that open day at St. Mungo’s tomorrow so he’s all excited and chatted our ears off about it the entire night.”

“Don’t try and act like you didn’t love every second of it. Probably asked a million questions just to hear him drawl on for hours,” Zayn quips, taking the opportunity to poke fun at Harry’s tendency to talk slower than the average person, except for when he was speaking about a passion of his, then the boy could be quite animated.

Louis takes a sharp right turn, almost cutting Zayn off, undoubtedly on purpose. “Just because you finally shagged _your_ Prince Charming doesn’t mean you can make fun of mine.”

“We didn’t shag,” Zayn insists harshly. That sort of rumour was **not** something that Louis should be in charge of.

“Sure you didn’t,” Louis agrees with a closed mouth smile.

The Ravenclaw doesn’t have enough energy this early to argue with him, so he doesn’t. “How’s he getting to hospital?”

They enter the Great Hall, barely paying any mind to the students around them as they walk to their spot with tunnel vision.

“Floo powder,” Louis replies, his eyes lighting up once he sees the boy he’s talking about waiting for him in the same spot he’s always in.

Zayn imagines his do the same when he notices that Liam’s there too, along with Niall.

Their conversation ends once they’re joining the other three, but Zayn can sense that something’s off when Niall and Harry both eye him strangely.

“Oh hell no,” Zayn hears Louis say exasperatedly. “You **_sure_** you didn’t shag?”

He’s about to give it to the male about how yes, he’s **_sure_** they didn’t shag. That’s something he’d be pretty aware of if it _had_ happened, but when Zayn sees that they’re all staring at Liam, he turns to figure out what’s wrong and, shit.

Right underneath his birthmark and half covered by his shirt collar, Liam’s got a wicked love bite. If Zayn was even a smidgen big headed when it came to his sexual abilities he’d nonchalantly shrug and say something cool like ‘didn’t even notice that got there’, but he wasn’t anywhere near conceited in that department yet and he most definitely _did_ remember every small ministration that it took to make the mark as purple as it was.

“We didn’t shag,” Zayn bites out, trying to act normal as he starts to make his plate, but not being able to stop himself from sneaking glances up at the memory of the night before every few seconds.

It wasn’t so much the severity of it, but the fact that Liam was so completely unbothered by showing it off like he was that struck something inside Zayn. Granted his clothing covered part of it and the colouring wasn’t overly prominent, the visual wasn’t terrible, but Liam still could have worn a scarf to make sure no one saw the mark to begin with. But no. Liam sat there totally unfazed by the fact that they were all picking apart his appearance, no sign of discomfort at all.

“Liam…” Louis pushes, hoping that _he_ would shine more light on the situation than Zayn had, especially with what he was donning proudly teasing the mystery.

Liam _was_ that big headed though. “Whatever Zayn said happened, happened.” Zayn wants to pull him in by his tie at the carefree shoulder shrug that follows.

“This is not the treatment we deserve after three years,” Niall throws in disappointedly.

“No Niall, you’re right.” Louis takes a deep breath, expelling the air louder than Zayn knows is necessary. “It’s certainly not.”

When he looks up once more to stare, Zayn’s caught by Liam, but instead of turning away, he lets the other send him a smirk and poorly executed wink.

\---

Kicking his feet up onto a footstool from his place on one of the communal sofas, Zayn takes in the rest of the Ravenclaw common room while Elijah puts away the chest that they were using to help him practice the unlocking spell ‘alohomora’. With it being a Monday night, practically all the tables are taken, those who weren’t able to snag a seat most likely in the library.

“I’m not mad or anything, but you do know that you’re not supposed to let people of other houses into our common room without them having an escort, right?” Zayn quizzes the younger wizard as he walks back over to the spot they had claimed for the night.

After stepping on the backs of his shoes to take them off, Elijah takes a seat next to Zayn and mirrors his position. “There was no stopping him,” he declares, assuming that Louis was the reason behind the topic being brought up. “He was just waiting there to sneak through. If not me, then it was gonna be someone else.”

“Oh trust me, he wouldn’t have taken no for an answer from anyone,” Zayn chuckles at the thought of Louis being passive. “I just wanted to make sure that you knew for future reference. If you’re going to get in trouble, at least make it worthwhile.”

Elijah quirks up a brow, “I thought you were supposed to be a good influence?”

“I’m the best of influences, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zayn feigns innocent. “It’s like teaching the birds and the bees. They always say don’t have sex and yet still end up handing out condoms.”

“So you’re saying have sex, but make sure to use a condom...” A blanket of coldness covers the room as The Grey Lady hovers through the front door and up to the next floor via the ceiling.

Zayn puts his head in his hands, “no!”

“So, don’t use a condom?” Elijah lets up on the serious act, not being able to stop himself from laughing at how easy it is to wind his mentor up.

“First of all, you’re not even twelve, you shouldn’t even be thinking about having sex with anyone. Secondly, you better watch it or the next prank we pull will be on you.” Zayn kicks Elijah's feet off the table effortlessly. “And always use a condom.”

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about-” Elijah’s cut off by Zayn slamming him in the head with a pillow.

“I was being a good influence!” Several students look their way with threatening stares for disturbing the peace, but Zayn ignores them. He was loud once a week, if that. They would all live.

“And an easy target,” Elijah snickers, fixing his hair from whatever damage the pillow had done. “But don’t worry, I’ll leave all the romance to you. I just want to focus on school and adjusting to magic. No first girlfriend just yet.”

It’s not as if Zayn had expected Elijah to be partaking in any of those sorts of activities anyway, but rather safe than sorry. He did have to admit that he sort of wishes that he could see the boy’s first relationship pan out though. Their bond came together pretty quickly, and as an only child, Zayn could only imagine that this was what it was like to have a little brother. It almost felt like it was a rite of passage for an older brother to see their younger siblings through their first relationship and inevitable heartbreak.

“Speaking of love, how’s Liam? Need my help yet?” With his feet back up on the table, Elijah returns to acting way too smug for his own good.

“You know, believe it or not, I’ve been able to handle my own,” Zayn gloates with a raise of his eyebrows. “A seventeen year old not needing assistance from an eleven year old, who would’ve thought?”

Elijah lets up on his dramatic pretense at hearing that his friend might have made progress on getting himself one step closer to no longer being single. “On a serious note, what’s the latest update?”

“Agreed to go out with me.” Zayn makes a check mark sign in the air. “Date and time…” His hand wavers back and forth.

The younger boy looks confused, “how does that work…”

“He said after the first quidditch game.” Zayn’s eyes turn to the front door where someone’s cat meows at wanting to be let out. “Doesn’t want to be distracted from that I don’t think.”

“You’ve waited three years, I don’t think two weeks will be all that hard for a man of your patience,” Elijah says bemusedly.

Zayn’s eyes focus back on the boy next to him. “Not you too with the three years thing.”

“It’s not a lie,” the younger wizard challenges with a tight lipped smile.

Maybe being an only child was superior after all.

“How’s drumming?” Zayn diverts, hoping that the tactic that had worked on Louis a few days ago would have the same effect on Elijah.

The boy eyes him for a second, but gives in. “Sick actually. I’m grateful that I get to practice, but it’ll be more fun being able to play with others once next term rolls around.”

“Maybe next week we can talk Flitwick into giving me the keys and we can hang there instead. It’s almost been two months now, I think it’s about time I come watch you play.” Zayn shifts in his seat, taking his legs down and spreading them lazily. “Niall told me he walked in on you playing the other day and couldn’t stop raving, but reviews don’t do the real thing justice. Plus, I’ve been practicing.” He takes out his wand to show what improvements he’s made when it comes to spinning his wand. “Wanna try with some real sticks.”

Elijah’s beaming as soon as Zayn’s messed up and the wand drops into his lap. “You’re getting there, but yeah, I’ll ask Flitwick if we can do next week in there.”

A few more sad attempts and then Zayn’s letting his wand rest on the arm of the sofa. The two sit in silence for a couple minutes, people watching and just thinking to themselves, but Zayn’s ponderings lead him to speak up.

“When we first met and I took you on a tour of the castle, you said that you _were_ a drummer.”

Noting the weight of Zayn’s tone, Elijah turns his body so that it’s facing the other better and he can be attentive. “Yeah…”

Zayn shakes his head, “you’re always going to be a drummer. Just like I’m always going to be a skater and we’re both always gonna love video games.” He runs a hand over his exposed forearm before going on. “One of the most important things I’ve learned living with Liam and watching him see the world from my point of view is that wizard or not, I am who I was and I am who I’m going to be.

“Magic might’ve killed my family, but if it weren’t for magic I don’t think I’d be able to see myself or the world how I do now. My perspective and how I assess things has changed because of it and I’m proud of that. I’m proud of being able to help Liam make sense of who he is by learning about the human world too. All of my friends have taken away something from knowing a muggleborn closely that they wouldn’t have otherwise ever gotten the chance to.

“I’m not saying we’re a gift to those around us,” Zayn clarifies. “I’m just saying that I’m this version of Zayn because I’ve been exposed to more than one way of living, and by virtue of actively taking advantage of that, I’ve become who I am - I’m not a muggle and I’m not a wizard, I’m a body of opinions that have been formed through understanding both.

“Liam’s always going to be a pureblood, they all are, but whether he realizes it or not, he’s not the same guy I met when I was your age. He loves magic, more than anyone I’ve ever met, but his identity’s not tied to that like it once was. He’s just Liam now.”

“Is that why you care about him so much?” Elijah buts in. “Because he understands you?”

“I care about him because of how he treats me and those around him,” Zayn says sincerely. “My point is, just because you’re a wizard now, doesn’t take away from what may seem like an old identity. Learn what you like about magic and what you hate about it, just like how you did with normal society. You discover what makes you _you_ by learning what’s around you and what’s not, and how you feel about that; it’s the only way you’re not going to turn out to be like most purebloods. They’re complacent with their being influenced by only their status, and it stunts their identity being a product of that; they don’t care to broaden their horizons.

“People can travel the world and still not know who they are. They might learn that they love sushi and hate the desert, but it’s how they use that information to learn about themselves and have it influence their identity that matters.”

Glancing to his left, the older male can see that he’s starting to lose Elijah with his theoretical rambling.

“Look at it this way,” Zayn twists his body so that he’s fully facing the boy, left leg tucked underneath him now. “There’s person A, and they live in a small village. I don’t know, think like somewhere in the midlands, yeah? So that person’s lived there their whole life and they stay there and raise a family and they’re alright with that. They have a good life, enjoy it, no regrets. Then there’s person B,” he counts out a second tally with his pointer finger. “They grew up in the same place, but wanted to go out and see what the rest of the world had to offer outside of the two thousand people in their village. They leave for uni, maybe go on holiday once or twice a year, read to educate themselves on what they weren’t exposed to growing up. Probably makes up most of the population, person B. The problem’s that they gain all this knowledge, but they don’t _do_ anything with it.” Zayn’s irked just by the thought. “Finally you’ve got person C. Still, grew up in the same place as A and B, moved far away for uni like person B, traveled like them too, but instead of just taking home souvenirs and stories of meeting interesting people, they uncover more about how they operate as an individual in relation to the rest of the world. They’ve got more types to compare themselves to and when they’ve got a solid hold on that, they start to allow themselves to be influenced by them.”

Contemplative eyes turn away to the room around them. “You have parts of Brighton that you’ve taken with you and any other place you’ve been - be introspective and evolve. Use those things to comprehend how your mind works and how it doesn’t. Help your friends understand that too. It may take a long time - I think Niall’s finally getting there, but don’t force it either, they have to be willing. That’s part of forming an identity. Shape yourself, don’t let it shape you.” He looks back at Elijah worriedly, “does all that make any sense?”

The young wizard seems pensive, but appreciative. “I think I get the gist of what you’re trying to say.” He pauses shortly, messing with a loose thread on his jumper. “Thanks. For agreeing to all of this.”

“You’re welcome,” Zayn replies calmly, picking up on Elijah’s allusion to their relationship. “I think I needed it just as much as you did.”

\---

_Twenty minutes have gone by and Zayn’s getting tired of just laying around his room waiting for Liam. His best friend’s usually never this late, but if he knew that the Gryffindor was going to take this long he could’ve went with Louis to see if they could steal anything from the kitchens before dinner._

_There’s a warming sensation in his pocket that triggers Zayn to pull out his newly enchanted card to see what Liam’s written._

**_About to start climbing the Tower stairs. Meet me at the door?_ **

_With such a heads up Zayn could probably stay where he was for another five minutes before moving, but he’s done enough of that already, so he makes his way out of his room as soon as he shoves the card back into his pocket._

_Using his left foot to keep the door open, Zayn looks down the stairwell and sees that Liam’s only two flights or so away from the top._

_“Aren’t you supposed to be an up and coming quidditch star?” He calls down, voice echoing off the walls. “You should be up here already.”_

_“I fly, not sprint!” Liam yells back._

_Zayn waits for him at the door, arms crossed in an unimpressed way that’s clearly fake. Anyone who could make it up those stairs in half the time Liam could was impressive._

_“You’re late,” he says once they’re entering the common room._

_“I’ve got a good excuse, don’t worry,” Liam reassures him as he catches his breath and follows the other into the third year boy’s dormitory._

_Zayn scoffs, “I’ll be the judge of that.”_

_Once they’re alone in the bedroom, Liam can’t hold in his secret any longer. “I asked Ruby out.”_

_“Yeah no shit Sherlock,” Zayn laughs while he takes a seat on his bed, leaning up against the headboard and facing a now confused Liam; the fictional name obviously wasn’t one he had gone over before. “I’ll explain later,” he says quickly. “But you’ve hung out with her already. If that’s the excuse then you owe me a welsh cake.”_

_Liam almost joins him on the bed, but decides to take a seat at Zayn’s desk instead. “No, I mean, I asked her to be my girlfriend.”_

_“What?” The word comes out a lot rougher than Zayn intended, and it shows by the way Liam’s face falls instantaneously, clearly expecting a much more positive response. “I mean that’s great!” Zayn corrects, making sure to sound much more enthused for the boy. “But you never mentioned you were planning on it…”_

_The remedy seems to have eliminated Liam’s worry. “I know, but I didn’t want to tell you or the others in case she said no.”_

_“Why?” Zayn asks bewildered, his facial expression matching his tone. “Because you thought we would’ve made fun of you?”_

_From the get go Zayn had made sure to always be cognisant of Liam’s sensitivity, passing on the knowledge to the other three when they had first become close. Mocking his best friend for anything, much less his first **real** love interest, wasn’t something Zayn would ever dream of._

_“I know, it was dumb, but it doesn’t matter anymore because she said yes!” Just simply sitting down, Liam’s exuberance can’t go unnoticed._

_The sight brings a smile to Zayn’s face, “congrats mate. First girlfriend, you beat me to it.”_

_“Which I don’t think anyone would have guessed considering how good you are with girls,” Liam replies honestly, playing with the hair that he was desperately trying to grow out. “You had your first kiss before me though.” Zayn shrugs at the comment, not all that interested in what that says about him. “Now we’ve got to find someone for you,” Liam adds, already looking to be thinking up a good candidate._

_The Ravenclaw doesn’t let him ruminate on the idea too long. “Who says I want a relationship?”_

_“Oh…”_

_There’s that gut wrenching look of disappointment again._

_“Willow’s been staring at me in Divination. Maybe I’ll chat her up or something,” Zayn offers, hoping that it’s more along the lines of what Liam was wishing to hear._

_Sure enough, his eyes light up once more. “If you two get together then we can all hang out when we got to Hogsmeade next.”_

_Zayn’s not so sure about that, but he doesn’t want to upset the male for a third time, so he goes along with it. “Yeah, we’ll see. Have you told the others yet?”_

_“No,” Liam shakes his head with a willful expression. “I came here straight after. I wanted you to be the first to know.”_

_And Zayn doesn’t even think Louis would be all that mad at the answer. He and Liam were practically brothers, it made sense that he would want to share something of this significance with his best friend first. Hopefully it was clear to Liam that the feeling was mutual for Zayn._

_“Well I’m happy for you,” the older boy admits freely, keeping his gaze on the other so he can tell he’s sincere. “Really, I am.”_

_Liam’s sending him a grateful smile, “thanks.” He leans back in the chair, relaxed now that he’s been able to share his excitement with someone else. “I’ll probably still end up coming to you for advice all the time.”_

_“That’s what I’m here for. I’m just glad we don’t have to worry about outfits since we’ve got uniforms 99% of the time,” Zayn professes as Teddy comes through the door._

_“What’s wrong with the way I dress?” Liam asks puzzled, eyebrows furrowing and head cocking to the side._

_There’s no helping Zayn’s wide smile when Teddy overhears him and starts laughing, “do you want me to answer that Payne?”_

_Before Liam really gets his feelings hurt, Zayn nods to the door and gets off the bed. “Come on, let’s go see if we can still score some sweets.”_

_Liam follows, but looks between his friend and Teddy as they exit. “Wait, what’s wrong with my clothes?”_

When they’re in Charms the next afternoon and Zayn’s stuck staring at Liam’s almost completely faded mark once again, he thinks about the memory his dream had brought up.

He _had_ ended up going out with Willow, and they _did_ spend a few trips to the village with Liam and Ruby during their year long relationship, but it was the one and only that Zayn had ever had, and not because no one else was interested either. Because of the boy next to him.

“What?” Liam whispers, snapping Zayn out of his thoughts and blushing at the fact that he was caught staring.

He shakes his head in response, “nothing.” Liam returns to focusing on the board, but turns back in astonishment as soon as Zayn adds “you’re just special.”

\---

Warmth from Harry leaning against his shoulder helps Zayn’s body to ward off any chills. Niall had started a fire when they first got to their abandoned room that night, but the secrecy element of where it was located made heat difficult to retain. When Liam left for a prefects meeting a few minutes before, the opening of the door allowed for heat to escape and cold air to enter, so Harry coming over to watch him sketch was greatly welcomed by Zayn.

Almost any time he brought out his notebook dedicated to all things non-school related, namely future research ideas and useless illustrations, Harry would come over and sneak a peek. He and the Hufflepuff had Transfiguration to work on, but Zayn wasn’t about to let his drawing go unfinished before then.

“You know those tattoos we’re all going to get next summer?” The boy asks offhandedly.

Zayn hums in response, too focused on his lines of the dragon to be bothered to say much else, but still letting the other know that he was listening.

“You should draw them.”

During their ride up to the castle in September, they had all reminisced on meeting and how significant the Express compartment was to their friendship. It was something that came before the sorting hat and signified their ability to see the importance in their friendship without the separation of houses. Getting its number tattooed on each of them only seemed right.

Zayn’s had a whole slew of tattoo ideas scattered about in his notebook for ages that he was just dying to get once he turned eighteen, but the rest of the group had only recently come around to the idea; the number ‘451’ the perfect first tattoo in size and importance. Niall hadn’t actually said yes yet, but by the time summer comes around, Zayn’s convinced he’ll be so sick of listening to them complain about how he didn’t care about the four of them as much as they cared about him, that he’d come around.

“You think?” Zayn replies while finishing up shading the dragon’s shadow with precision.

“I agree with Harry,” Louis adds from the couch, completely unfazed by his boyfriend being in such close proximity to Zayn. Not only was he confident in their relationship, but such physical contact with each other wasn’t worth batting an eye at anymore. “You can draw one for us to all get or do a different font for each of us.”

Niall doesn’t even look up from his book to try and come up with a compelling argument as to why he doesn’t want to be included in this ‘each of us’ claim. It’d just be falling on deaf ears.

Putting down the pen that he brought from home, Zayn took in the finished sketch. “Yeah I’d be down for that.” Once he closes his notebook, satisfied with the drawing enough for it to be complete, Harry sits back down in his chair.

Since it’s a Thursday, they should be diligent and get their work done for the last class of the week tomorrow, but Zayn’s feeling exceptionally lazy.

Observing the room from where he’s sat, a thought comes to the front of his mind. “How would you guys feel if I showed Elijah this place?” Three pairs of eyes turn his way. “As like a pass down sort of thing. It’d still be ours until we graduate, I’d make that clear, but just to let him in on.”

“As long as he doesn’t try and collect his inheritance from you before then, I don’t see why not,” Louis responds while gazing over at the fire to make sure it was still on.

Niall dog ears the page that he’s on, Zayn noticing and wincing at the ill treatment. “Yeah, I’m alright with it.”

“Fine by me,” Harry affirms with a friendly smile.

“And you already know that Liam thinks your words are law, so you’ve got the stamp of approval.” Louis adjusts himself so that he can see Zayn and Harry properly from the sofa. “How are things going with mini-Zayn anyway?”

Like Niall, Zayn doesn’t have it in him to be bothered with Louis, as accurate or as false as the nickname he spoke may be. “Not bad. We still hang out every Monday night and just chill.” Minor goosebumps start to form on his arms the more his internal temperature adjusts to being without Harry’s body heat. “He’s smart as fuck so I don’t really have to help him with school stuff all that much. We talk about non-magical things most of the time. Gonna see if we can use the music room for next week.”

“I’m telling you, the kid’s insane on those drums,” Niall comments, throwing his book on the coffee table. “Wish Flitwick would let him join the club already.”

Zayn’s about to reply, but he notices that the book Niall was reading was the one that he had gotten him for his birthday. Seeing that he’s nearly finished makes Zayn proud for having picked out something that the boy’s enjoyed enough to find the time in the past month to read between all his classwork.

“You like the book?” He asks, steering away from the topic of his mentorship for a second.

Niall looks at the discarded hardback, “yeah, it’s brilliant! Most people just think it’s for Muggle Studies, so they don’t even bother me when I’m readin’ it, it’s great.”

It’s never been openly established, but Zayn likes to think he played a huge part in making the blonde comfortable enough to be able to talk about muggles as freely as it seems like he’s always wanted to. Being sorted into a house like Slytherin probably didn’t help matters, but Zayn’s glad he’s been able to help Niall be open about a topic that he would have liked to learn about when he was younger, but just didn’t have the resources to do so.

“I’m glad,” the Ravenclaw replies shortly before going back to what Louis had asked. “But yeah, things with Elijah are good. I know he’s a lot younger than me, but it sort of feels like I’m back with my old friends whenever we hang.”

Louis raises his eyebrows in contest. “You want to repeat that?”

“Don’t even start.” The statement’s not malicious, Zayn knows that, but this is exactly why he hardly ever talks about his background. It’s subconscious now, but having to remember not to explicitly separate his current life from his years growing up in order to avoid explanation, was a skill that chatting with Elijah had reminded him was only gained out of necessity coming to Hogwarts. “We were just talking about matching tattoos, clearly we’re brothers.”

“It’s probably nice to have someone understand what you’re going through,” Harry says thoughtfully, giving Zayn his full attention. “Or went through, I guess.”

Of course Zayn had met other muggleborns in the school, but he never really clicked with any of them. To him, most just seemed interested in completely forgetting that part of their lives and dissociating with it altogether because they had something shiny and new, and Zayn couldn’t stand that, nevermind be friends with those types.

“You know I love you guys, and I love teaching you about slinky’s and James Bond, but it’s a nice change to just have someone to relate to on an emotional level about that sort of thing.” He runs a hand through his quiff before continuing. “Talking to wizards about magic and muggles about their world is one thing, but being able to combine the two...I don’t know, it’s not easy to find others who automatically get that. It’s something that’s innate, can’t be taught.” Zayn looks back down at his closed notebook, focusing on the haphazard collection of doodles littering the cover. “Having Liam to help me with the transition was a god send, but even then, he couldn’t have ever understood how I was feeling, what I missed, the anger, the confusion.”

“Should we have tried to help you more when we were younger?”

When Harry asks the question, he realizes that they’ve never had a detailed conversation about this, neither as a group, nor individually. Leave it up to Harry to be the one to voice his mind, but Zayn wonders if the other two are thinking the same thing.

“No.” Zayn shakes his head and takes a deep breath as he gathers his own thoughts on the observation. “I mean, I wouldn’t have been opposed to it, but none of us would have known what to do. You wouldn’t have known what to say, and I probably would’ve been frustrated just venting to you about something that you didn’t understand, only listened to because you were my friends and that’s what you’re supposed to do.”

He’s got the urge to go back to drawing, always somehow finding it easier to busy another one of his senses when he goes on a tangent about something, but he knows it might diminish the importance of the conversation to the others, so he refrains. “Sometimes he asks questions where the only reason I have an answer at all is because enough time has gone by for there to even be one in the first place.” Flashes of confusing days alone in the castle cross Zayn’s mind, bringing a pain of wistfulness that he doesn’t let himself get attached to. “You guys did what you could, and that was accept me and make me feel comfortable enough that if I _had_ ever wanted to, I could have asked you to have a heart to heart.”

“So what you’re really saying is that we’re the greatest friends you could have ever asked for,” Louis suggests, his animated disposition telling Zayn that he just wanted to lighten the mood.

While he has half a mind to get out of his seat and wrestle Louis and his smug smile off the couch, Zayn can’t bring himself to do it because he’s right. Once he had let them in on his situation a month into their friendship, none of them so much as flinched.

“Better than any blood brothers.” Zayn means it from the bottom of his heart, doesn’t want to know a life where it’s not true.

“I don’t think you would shag one of your relatives though,” Louis replies sarcastically, ruining the moment royally.

“We didn’t shag!” The Slytherin smiles victoriously at Zayn’s eruption and slitted eyes.

“Zayn?”

“What!?” Zayn barks at Niall, immediately feeling bad for directing his temper at the boy when it’s clear by the way he shrinks back in his chair that it’s unrelated to Liam.

“Can you remind me what a slinky is again?”

\---

There’s something about Hogsmeade that always puts Zayn in a good mood. He can say the same about Diagon Alley, but the all year round snow that the village had never failed to make the Londoner feel like he was on holiday. Even when it snowed at the castle Zayn loved to watch the snowflakes fall from his perfect viewing position in Ravenclaw Tower; it was such a rarity for it to snow in London when he had lived there, that he never tired of seeing the white crystals anytime they appeared.

Sitting in the window seat of Tomes and Scrolls, Zayn takes a break from reading the copy of _Learned Comments of Wisdom_ he picked up while exploring the shelves to watch the snow fall outside. Even though Niall had offered for Zayn to join him in hanging out with the group of Slytherins that were getting together for the trip, the older wizard declined. He knew that his friend was only doing his best to be nice since Zayn would most likely be on his own thanks to Louis and Harry having a teashop date and Liam hosting another one of his ‘team days out’. The fact that he’d be out of the castle and around new scenery was enough for the Ravenclaw to be content, although it did help that he could read in peace knowing that Liam wouldn’t be going out with Anna like she had hinted at wanting last month.

It’s almost as if he thinks the boy into existence because one second he’s focused on the white High Street and the next he’s being met with the entire Gryffindor quidditch team, Liam in the lead.

They meet eyes, Zayn sending him a closed mouth smile from where he’s sat, assuming that Liam would do the same, but instead, the captain turns to the girl on his right that Zayn recognizes as Eve and says something, splitting off from the group and walking into the bookstore right after.

A few seconds pass before he’s joined by Liam, who takes the other window seat across from him. “Hey,” the boy greets, finally giving Zayn the smile he was initially expecting and selfishly hoping to see.

“Hey,” Zayn repeats, looking back out the window for a split second. “I thought you were doing team bonding or whatever.”

“We are, but I saw you in here by yourself and I couldn’t not come in,” Liam explains as he reaches for the book that was on the other’s lap, Zayn doing his best not to react at the fingers that grazed the inside of his thigh. “I thought _you_ were going to go with Niall...”

Shrugging, Zayn watches as Liam flips through the philosophy book knowing that he’d soon realize that it wasn’t anything he was interested in and hand it back over. “Didn’t feel like it. Went to Honeydukes to get some fudge and then wandered around.”

“Doesn’t surprise me that you ended up here,” Liam teases, returning the book as predicted. “And it definitely doesn’t surprise me that you’re reading that,” he nods to the text.

“What can I say? I’m a man of great taste.” Zayn’s crossing his legs in a cocky manor, setting the book to the side.

It’s typical Zayn behaviour, but Liam still laughs as if he wasn’t used to the boy in front of him and his way with words for years. “Well, does that taste include drinks at the Three Broomsticks?” Zayn’s look of confusion prompts Liam to elaborate. “Before we leave, the team was going to go and get a round of butterbeer. You wanna come?”

At first Zayn politely rejects the invitation, citing the reason being that it wasn’t called a _team_ outing for a nothing, and although practically every Gryffindor knew who he was by virtue of Liam, it still wasn’t his place, but thirty minutes later and he somehow finds himself at a long table surrounded by a sea of red.

When they first arrived there weren’t any protests from the other team members about the rogue Ravenclaw like Zayn might have expected, though Liam did take the seat next to him so as to not completely leave him to drown. For the most part Zayn sits quietly, trying to follow along with the many lively conversations going on between the Gryffindors, but it’s mostly inner-house talk and goes completely over his head. Still, Zayn’s just happy that he’s not being shunned, and even more thrilled when Liam takes it upon himself to order his favourite - _‘we’ll take a round of butterbeer and he’ll have a cherry syrup and soda with ice’_ \- followed by a signature Liam Payne ‘wink’.

It’s the same wink he’s getting Monday morning when Liam barely slides into the Charms classroom before Flitwick locks the door.

“Cutting it close Mr. Payne...” the professor warns from his podium.

“Sorry sir, I was up late last night revising,” Liam replies respectfully while taking his seat. “Slept in on accident.”

Zayn’s about to ask just how late was late, but he bites his tongue as soon as he sees Liam giving him a once over. “I like the jumper only, no tie look,” he points out in a raspy tone, something that Zayn knew was sleep induced and also one of his biggest turn ons.

Thankfully he was able to listen to it a few more times that week during breakfast, before Liam talked it out of his system for the day. On the flip side, morning meals were practically the only time that he had seen his best friend outside of Charms. Even Louis had tried to get Liam to skip out on just grabbing a sandwich to go for lunch and take some time to slow down and eat with them, if not for saving face then for his own mental health, but the Head Boy was far too determined to get done what he needed to before the first quidditch game that Saturday. Zayn had gone so far as to go out of his way to take different routes to his classes that passed Liam’s in the hope that they would _happen_ to cross paths, but it only worked once and Liam had had to go to quidditch practice shortly after anyway, so the extra effort had been a waste.

On Friday morning Abra drops into the Great Hall during breakfast to deliver Zayn a letter from Liam’s parents, Liam’s own tawny owl Loki (a name that came from Liam’s insatiable desire to learn as much as he could about comics their first summer) doing the same.

**Zayn,**

**Hope all is going well at school. We know you’re doing great as always!**

**Liam mentioned that you saw a book at Hogsmeade you liked, so we’ve added a couple extra sickles to your pocket money this month so you can go out and get it.**

**If you need more we’ll see you tomorrow at Liam’s first game, so we can give it to you then.**

**Stay safe!**

**Love,**

**Mr. & Mrs. Payne**

Carefully Zayn folds up the letter and puts it back in its envelope, sliping the attached pouch of money in his robe pocket.

The first time he received a letter from Liam’s parents he thought that something must’ve been wrong with Loki and they needed to use Abra to send what they needed, but when he saw that Loki had delivered Liam a letter as well, Zayn realized that there was no mistake after all; the Payne’s planned on continuing to treat him like one of their own beyond the summer. After getting kicked out of his own house, Zayn’s couldn’t have dreamt up a better family to take him in and care enough to continue to help raise him through the years. Whether it was providing him with a small monthly allowance (it took him four months to give in and finally stop insisting they quit sending him the money) or writing to him just to check up like any other parent would, the Payne’s always went above and beyond Zayn’s expectations.

He looks at Liam with a tender eyes. “You told your parents about the philosophy book?”

“I mentioned it, yeah.” Liam tries to see if there’s a book that he missed be delivered. “Why? Did they get it for you?”

“Gave me extra money for it,” Zayn answers, forgetting about his food entirely. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Liam shrugs, unbothered by the boy’s dislike for his parents spending money on him when it wasn’t necessary. “Just thank them tomorrow.”

Zayn watches as Liam folds up his own letter and starts to eat. The Payne’s really were something else…

\---

“Alright Zaynie, the day’s come: first quidditch game of the season. Which means, once Liam takes home the victory, you’re officially off romantic probation.” Pulling on his beanie, Louis checks around his dorm before nodding to the other three in the room that they’re good to go. “Bounce your date ideas off us so we can both take the piss out of them and simultaneously approve.”

“Three year build up, this is,” Niall throws in. “You’re bound to have come up with some good ideas by now.”

They all shuffle out of the Slytherin dungeons with the rest of the students on their way to view the match, Zayn sticking his hands in his jacket pockets and digging deep to stop himself from getting annoyed at the bringing up of the time period yet again.

“Living in the middle of nowhere with one outing a month has its limitations,” Zayn points out as he does his best to ignore the butterflies that are conjured up by the thought of truly taking Liam out on a proper date.

Harry links his arm with Louis’, tilting his head in Zayn’s direction. “You really don’t have anything?”

“I mean, I’ve thought of a few things,” the Ravenclaw retorts, “but now that I know I’m being set up for failure, I’m not so sure this is the safest of audiences to test them out on.”

Louis rolls his eyes at the weak jab. “Right, because Liam’s rival quidditch captain aka your flatmate, _or_ the first year Einstein are really better suited for the job…”

What started off as a joke has now turned way too real, causing Zayn to completely dismiss the remark altogether. “Obviously if we weren’t at school I’d be a bit more romantic, but I don’t know.” Coffee coloured eyes stay casted down at the concrete in shyness, “I was thinking getting dinner from a house elf and setting it up in our secret room?”

“Been there, done that.” Louis starts the ascent to the ground floor, Harry still right at his side. “Next.”

“We could wait until the next trip to Hogsmeade and go to Hog’s Head for drinks?” Zayn tries out instead, fingers pushing into his thighs as he walks in an attempt to distract himself from his growing doubt brought on by being so vulnerable.

“First off, you’re not waiting another month. Secondly, are you trying to kill him?” Louis looks over his shoulder at Zayn with an uneasy expression. “One step into that place and you’ll get a disease.”

“I thought since it’s hardly ever busy, it’d be an intimate sort of thing.” Turning to the boy on his left, Zayn looks for a helping hand. “Niall, you went last term. Tell them it’s not that bad.”

“There’s a reason I haven’t been _this_ term,” the boy replies, a look of disgust at the memory coming over his face.

Harry decides to step in when he senses things are starting to go downhill. “Why don’t you just do something simple? How about a library date?”

“Are you forgetting what happened the last time they were unsupervised at the library?” Louis reminds him, holding the door open as they exist the castle and make their way in the direction of the quidditch pitch.

“I’m sticking with the dinner idea,” Zayn gives in, not wanting to add fuel to a waiting bonfire.

Falling back in line with the other two, Louis eases off, “fine, but you lose major originality points.”

“Says the guy who gets his boyfriend literally the same chocolates every year for Valentine’s Day,” Zayn argues, tugging his hood up just barely to help keep the back of his neck warm now that they were out in the crisp November air.

“Yeah? What of it?” Louis sneers loudly. “At least I’ve had a Valentine to buy chocolates for! You just buy them for yourself when they go on sale at Honeydukes afterwards.”

Niall chuckles, the puffs of air visible from the cold, “remember that year they sold out of the chocolate frogs and he was gutted?”

Again, Harry sees that he needs to take control of the conversation before Zayn has the chance to blow up. “I’m sure no matter what you come up with Liam will love.” There’s a sweet smile sent Zayn’s way, but Harry’s quick to let curiosity wash over him. “Wasn’t that last year? The frogs?”

Zayn doesn’t need to hear anymore. Veering off to the right, he makes his way to the team changing rooms, no warning or dismissal uttered to his friends.

“Oh no, come on Zayn!” Harry yells after him once they realize he’s steered away from the group. “We were just kidding!”

“Leave him,” Louis waves off. “The Payne’s can deal with broody Zayn.”

Niall squeezes past a group of younger girls to keep up with the couple, smile still wide. “Maybe we should get him chocolates as an apology.”

\---

“Payne, your Ravenclaw’s here!”

Shifting in his spot to keep warm, Zayn waits outside the Gryffindor team tent after Noah, he thinks his name is, had seen him and shouted for Liam.

No more than twenty seconds pass before the captain’s pushing through the flap in the door looking as nervous as ever. “You came…” As soon as the words are out, he’s engulfing Zayn in a tight embrace.

“Of course I did,” the older boy mumbles into Liam’s neck. He leaves out the part where he can’t believe that Liam would _ever_ think Zayn would be anywhere other than the front row. “I’m going to sit with your parents, but first…” Leaning back from the hug but not pulling away entirely, Zayn faces a captivated Liam. “You have a pre-game ritual to partake in.”

There’s a flash of confusion that passes over Liam’s face, but it’s quickly replaced with recognition and he wastes no time in kissing Zayn senseless. Instead of the urgency coming from a primitive want, Zayn can tell that it’s something that the wizard craves to calm his nerves and ground himself.

“You’re gonna do great,” Zayn says comfortingly as he rests his forehead against the other’s. “Don’t think about the scouts or the score, just be focused. If you’re tuned in, there’s no stopping you, you know that.”

Liam lets out a sigh, dropping his arms from around Zayn’s torso and finally taking a step back from their close proximity. “I know, it’s just…”

“It’s a lot,” Zayn finishes for him, not needing to hear any explanation, they’re understanding of one another was enough for him to know what Liam as thinking. “This is your last first game as a student. Just go out and play for your house.” He points to the red kit the other was wearing. “Making them proud means just as much to you as any contract.”

Nodding, Liam holds a look of gratitude and relief from knowing that he had someone like Zayn in his life. “Can I get one more for good measure?” He’s stepping back into the boy’s space, not waiting for an answer, just leaning forward for another kiss.

“Alright, you can’t spoil the ritual. It’ll lose it’s magic.” Zayn doesn’t realize the irony in his words until it’s too late, but oh well. “Now go on,” he nods to the room.

Despite what Zayn had just said, Liam’s quick to steal another kiss, returning to the team swiftly with a mischievous smile before the Ravenclaw can chastise him for it. It was a smart move too, because the second their lips met Zayn was already thinking up a sarcastic comment.

Now left to his own devices, Zayn makes his way to the designated stands for outside visitors, climbing the stairs to find Liam’s parents and sisters and complaining about why wizards loved staircases so much the entire way up.

Canvassing the crowd, it doesn’t take Zayn long before he locates the people he was looking for. The wizard makes his way to the first row, not at all surprised that that was where Liam’s family were sat; probably even got there early to ensure that they got the best seats for their son’s big game. They’d been there for every game Liam had ever played, but they all knew the stakes were much higher this season.

“Zayn!” Liam’s Mother’s getting out of her seat and hugging him as soon as the male comes into view. “How have you been? We’ve missed you!” When she pulls away she scans his figure. “Have you been eating? You know you need to eat.”

She’s been telling him the same thing since they had their first meal together, but Zayn’s too preoccupied with being appreciative over the fact that the woman cares about him like his own Mother to fight her on it.

“I missed you too, and yes, I’m eating plenty,” he rubs her back lightly before stepping back and doing the same with the other two young women who were waiting, along with Liam’s Dad.

“Did you manage to see Liam before he plays?” The older man asks, his eyes trained on the pitch.

 _I managed to do a lot more than see._ “Yeah, he’s a ball of nerves, but I told him he’d smash it, so,” Zayn shrugs one shoulder after taking a seat. “Now we’ve just got to wait and see.”

“I can’t believe this is his last year.” A frigid gust of wind blows into the crowd, leaving many to bundle themselves tighter into their coats. “Seems like yesterday you boys were trying to convince me to buy him a broom before he even made the team.”

Zayn can’t really believe it either, but he’s been doing enough reminiscing about his time at Hogwarts with Elijah around now, that he’s not in the mood to really talk too much about how fast time’s gone by.

“Thank you for the money by the way,” Zayn says, hoping they don’t mind him changing the subject, but also needing thank them before he forgets.

“Oh it’s nothing sweetheart,” Liam’s Mum dispels with a warm smile. “Do you need more? Was that enough for the book?”

“More than enough. Really, thank you.” Making sure to look the woman in the eyes so she can see his sincerity, Zayn continues, “you’ve done so much for me throughout the years, I can never stop saying it.”

There’s a kiss being placed on his head. “You’re welcome. Anything you need, you tell us. Understand?”

Zayn nods, but they both know that he’s far too modest and selfless to do such a thing.

Horns fill the stadium, followed by the crowd’s screams as the players fly out from their respective wings.

There’s no missing Liam since he leads the fleet of red and gold, but once the game starts, things become so fast paced that it’s hard to keep his eye on the chaser the entire time.

For the most part it’s a good matchup, which makes for great spectating, but he knows that if Liam really wants to win the Cup at the end of the year, they’ve got to start widening the lead. At one point Zayn shields his eyes when one of the bludgers goes sailing towards Liam from behind, but somehow the Gryffindor senses it and swerves out of the way, throwing the quaffle at the last second and earning ten points. If that isn’t what a recruiter’s looking for, Zayn doesn’t know what is.

They win. Or _Gryffindor_ wins, but Zayn didn’t expect anything less.

**Gryffindor: 260**

**Hufflepuff: 60**

It’s a solid amount of points for the House to put towards their Cup ranking, hopefully enough that Liam will be accepting of.

When he’s greeting Zayn and his family with a huge grin after changing out of his uniform, the Ravenclaw lets out a sigh of relief.

“You did brilliantly love!” His Mum nearly suffocates Liam in a hug, but the boy’s such a family person that Zayn doesn’t need to look to know he loves the smothering.

“Really well done,” one of his sisters says as they all go around exchanging hugs.

“I told you you’d do amazingly,” Zayn compliments when it gets to be his turn, arms squeezing tightly.

Liam’s reply is spoken closely into the other’s ear, “had a little bit of extra luck on my side.”

“I’m sure that didn’t hurt.” When they pull away Zayn can see a few men in athletic apparel watching them from a safe distance. “You’ve got visitors.”

Looking over his shoulder, Liam sees the scouts. Within seconds Zayn can visibly see the captain’s nerves start to take over.

“You’ll be fine, you played great. I’m gonna go find the boys, so you can tell me what they say later, yeah?” He makes sure that Liam looks him in the eye to know he’s not abandoning him, this just isn’t his place.

Zayn waits until he hears the “alright, yeah” as confirmation that Liam understands before saying his goodbyes to the Payne’s, promising to write and eat as much as he can until he sees them again for the winter break.

\---

When Zayn makes it back to the castle he messages the group to ask where they were, heading to the Great Hall as soon as he sees the reply. His wristwatch reads 4:32, far too early for dinner, but with it being a Saturday, and a game day no less, there are probably snacks strewn about on the tables to peck at.

As he walks in, he can’t help but notice how refreshing it feels for the huge dining hall to be practically empty and borderline silent compared to how it usually was. It isn’t their first time hanging out here between meals on the weekend, but he still gets the same feeling as if it were.

“Zayn! We’re over here!” Niall’s voice practically echoes from where he’s stood on the bench, waving his arms dramatically. There were hardly any students in the hall with them, but a majority of those that were gave the blonde a dirty look, a handful not even bothering to turn around since it’s something expected of someone from their group.

“It’s a bit too loud,” Louis says behind his mug. “Try yelling louder. I don’t think he can hear you.”

“ZA-”

“You’re gonna get us kicked out again,” Zayn cuts him off, both to prevent his words from coming true and to spare his ear drums.

“The last time wasn’t my fault,” Niall defends as he sits back down, Zayn joining him.

Harry plays with a ring on his finger, “you did let Salt loose.”

“He snuck into my pocket without me looking! How was I supposed to know he was even there, nevermind that he was going to crawl out onto the table at dinner?” Niall shoves a biscuit into his mouth aggressively at the call out towards his rat. “Pepper has done way worse!”

Louis’ eyes dart to Niall’s once his own pet rat’s being brought up. “Don’t bring him into this! Might I remind you he came first? If it weren’t for Pepper needing a friend, Salt wouldn’t have even come about.”

Zayn looks at Harry as the other two spat, “sorry you guys lost.”

“It’s fine.” Harry pours himself a cup of tea, Zayn taking the kettle and doing the same once he was done. “I’m not that bothered by it, and we haven’t had a good team since we won the Cup our first year, so I’m not surprised.”

Soon after Niall gets bored of bantering with Louis, he brings up Liam’s performance and they all go on to talk about quidditch - a topic that isn’t Zayn’s all time favourite, but he obliges.

Thankfully he feels his pocket heat up, and with the other three sitting around him, Zayn deduces that it has to be from Liam.

“Loverboy calling?” Louis asks, trying to peek over and read what the card said once he saw Zayn take it out of his trouser pocket.

Pulling the card close to his chest, the Ravenclaw sneaks a peek.

**_Party in the common room for dinner_ **

There’s something to be said about the fact that Liam addresses his own common room so universally, as if Zayn wasn’t a part of another house all together, and there was indeed a single, shared room. There’s that, and the lack of a proper invitation anywhere in there. To Liam, Zayn didn’t need to be _invited_ , only passed on the message that something he should already be aware of, was happening.

**_Sounds good, I’ll be there_ **

“So…”

“After party at his,” Zayn puts simply, folding the card back up neatly.

“Another Gryffindor party rejection for the rest of us,” Louis sighs unnecessarily loud.

Even after six years, Zayn still feels guilty that he’s the only one out of the group that attends any of the parties Liam’s house throws. If it were up to him he’d have them all tag along, and he knows Liam would agree, but even their inter-house friendships saw their boundaries. With Zayn being Liam’s best friend, the boy refused to allow anyone to turn away the Ravenclaw. In retrospect, Zayn’s not sure how Liam had much leverage with an empty threat like that, but it seemed to work, and while it was awkward at first, ever since the beginning of their second year, it was only the new students that needed re-educating on who Zayn was in relation to the Gryffindor house.

“Consider it an opportunity to get away with something Liam or I would normally put a stop to,” Zayn recommends, giving Harry a sympathetic look, but also knowing that if the Hufflepuff was in the right mood, he too could be a rare type of mischievous.

“Well when you put it that way…”

\---

Zayn can hear music playing from an entire flight of stairs below his destination. In no way did it come close to the ruckus that the Gryffindor common room had been when they won the Cup last year, but for a first game win it was noisier than he expected.

Right as he’s about to get the Fat Lady’s attention, the portrait swings open, causing Zayn to take a few quick steps back. After a few younger students exit, he slips through and is immediately met with a wall of excitement and loud commotion.

Without uniforms on, it’s actually pretty easy to identify people in the crowd, but it takes Zayn a minute before he finds Liam on the couch facing the fireplace, people spilling off the sofa around him it’s so crowded.

“Your boyfriend’s here, Payne.” A random fifth year’s pointing at Zayn, the audience around them all turning to see who she meant, instantly unimpressed when they see who it is. All except Liam.

He’s up and off the couch in the blink of an eye, squished up smile present at the arrival of his best friend, completely deaf to the false label that’s been used to tease them for years.

“I know it’s not your favourite, but there’s tons of Butterbeer and a bunch of food, so help yourself!”

Zayn wants to laugh at how Liam’s acting like he’s never been to one of these things before and how he feels the need to play host, but he’s enjoying seeing Liam so energetic that he ignores the obvious.

“What’s wrong?” The captain asks once Zayn doesn’t respond, telling the nearest person to turn the music down a little.

“Nothing,” the older male responds with an enamored smile. “I like seeing you like this - all glowing and shit.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the one who has a way with words?” Liam slings his arm around Zayn’s shoulder like they’re on top of the world.

And for the rest of the night, maybe they are.

Liam never leaves his side, chatting about how the Chudley Cannons’ recruiter had said he was impressed and wanted to see what he could do in his next game, how nice it was to see his family, and everything in between.

Zayn’s lost count on how many yorkshire puddings he’s eaten, as well as the amount of butterbeers that Liam’s thrown back, but he doesn’t see that as a bad thing. With how busy and stressed Liam had been lately, it’s amazing to be able to see him kick back and participate in things like a marshmallow eating contest.

As the night wind’s down and most of the students have gone upstairs, Zayn lays opposite Liam on the sofa.

“Have a good night?” He asks, grateful that he can speak at a normal volume with the music off now.

“The best,” Liam grins contently, bringing his hands behind his head to rest on. “Thanks again for coming.”

Zayn’s got his eyes closed peacefully, but he’s still very much awake. “To the game or the party? Because either way you should know that I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Still.”

They lay in a comfortable silence, the fire crackling next to them helping with the serene ambiance.

“You’ve saved me a lot of hassle not having to worry about getting you past the front door this time,” Zayn jokes, breaking the calm a few minutes later.

“I’m not drunk,” Liam declares, a small yawn escaping his lips shortly after.

“No, but you must be exhausted.” Zayn stretches in preparation to leave. “I should get going. I’ve gotta get my beauty sleep you know.”

“You don’t need it,” the male replies effortlessly, getting up to walk Zayn to the door.

“Alright Heathcliff,” Zayn laughs softly, watching as Liam’s t-shirt rises to reveal a peek at his six pack when he stretches. “Weren’t you just telling me that _I_ was the one that had a way with words?”

Liam shrugs as he pads over to the exit, “you’ve got a way with a lot of things.”

Two months have gone by, yet Zayn still can’t get over how full of debauchery Liam was and how it alluring he found it. Fifteen year old Zayn would be in shambles.

Before he leaves, Zayn gives the boy a solid hug. “Innuendos aside, I was really proud of you today.”

“Means a lot,” and Liam shows just how much with an extra squeeze before he lets go. “I’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast?”

Zayn steps through the painting doorway, turning around to give Liam one last smile for the night. “Bright and early.”

\---

Staring at himself in the mirror as he brushes his teeth, Zayn thinks back to being called Liam’s boyfriend earlier in the night.

As much as he hated hearing his friends remind him just how long he had been in love with his best friend, he couldn’t deny how unreal it felt that things were finally coming together. Through all of Liam’s relationships and having to lie about his occasional jealousy towards Louis and Harry, Zayn was finally done paying his dues.

Soon enough he’d be able to have the same arm around him and feel the same amount of freedom that he had tonight, for as long as Liam would have him.

\---

Walking into the Great Hall the next morning, there’s still an energy around any and all Gryffindors, Zayn can feel it. He’s wearing his hair down that morning, a pair of navy trousers and a black jumper to go along with his relaxed look. Teddy had approved of the outfit when he walked out of the washroom earlier, poking fun of the fact that it was good to see him at least wear his house colours if he was going to attend their rival’s victory party. While they both knew that Zayn’s house pride existed, there was a part of him that felt like he owed it to himself and the other Ravenclaw’s to outwardly express that every once and awhile. The way Liam had taken in the chilled back look when Zayn approached their table didn’t hurt either.

Barely a second goes by after Zayn sits down before he considers strangling Louis. The Slytherin immediately goes into storytelling mode in order to fill Liam and Zayn in on what they had gotten up to the night before without them, completely eliminating any chance Liam had to say what was on his mind.

It goes on like that for the entire meal, and even though Zayn found himself laughing more times than not at the image of Harry trying to balance the other two on his shoulders to wake higher up paintings, he was itching to get Liam alone. After last night, he’d finally gathered enough confidence to go through with asking the Gryffindor out, but the more time that passes the more Zayn worries that he’ll lose the courage.

“Hey, can we talk?” Zayn asks, gently grabbing Liam’s wrist to hold him back from following the rest of the group once they’re walking out of the Hall. Liam looks at him puzzled, but nods. “We’ll catch up with you lot later,” Zayn directs to the three boys that were now ahead of them by a few paces.

They all look between the two, eyes dropping down to Zayn’s hold on Liam, but Louis’ the only one who speaks. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

“That’s not much,” the Ravenclaw mumbles, directing him and Liam down a corridor towards the courtyards before Louis has any time to retaliate.

“What’s up?” Liam sticks his hands in his trouser pockets once Zayn’s dropping his wrist.

Only a few people are walking around the castle at this hour on a Sunday morning, so when he takes a deep breath, it’s a lot more pronounced than it would have sounded if the halls were as full as they usually were. “Well, yesterday was the first game of the season, and I don’t know if you remember, but we sort of talked about- you know, _briefly_ we talked about…” Zayn plays with the two index cards in his pocket, wishing that his nervous energy from talking about that evening would transfer to them and he wouldn’t sound like such an idiot. “Things were sort of…”

“Distracting?” Liam offers, tilting his head towards the other with a humourous smirk.

“Yeah,” Zayn breathes out, looking over at Liam for a split second and smiling himself, though more out of anxiousness than at the positive recollection. “That’s a good way to put it.”

They’re coming up to the main courtyard opening, the open air refreshing even though it makes Zayn wonder why he didn’t bring a scarf. Instead of venturing onto the grass, he stops and leans against the now half-exposed hall walls. As he looks into the open space, he notes that they were ironically stood where the Slytherins who harassed him his first year had been perched.

“Anyway, I know it’s been a couple weeks, but I was hoping now that the game was out of the way we could, maybe, talk about setting a date for a...date.” Zayn frowns at himself at how utterly lame that sounded, but it was out in the open and that in itself was a miracle, so he couldn’t allow himself to focus on the details of the delivery.

Liam shifts his weight to one leg as he leans up against a courtyard entrance pillar. “I didn’t forget about it.”

Hearing that Liam hadn’t completely written off the plans was a positive in Zayn’s book, but the neutral tone that he used had the older wizard wondering if there was a ‘but’ somewhere in there.

“Cool,” Zayn starts cautiously, eyeing Liam’s body language and facial expressions since he was now unsure of himself from not getting an enthusiastic response like he had expected. “I know you have quidditch practice in the afternoons and evenings sometimes, so just tell me when you have a night off and we can have dinner. I was thinking I could-”

“Zayn…”

The boy’s eyes had wandered off to their surroundings when he started to let himself speak his mind, but they flit back to Liam’s figure at the sound of his name, seeing that the other’s got his eyes trained on the ground in guilt.

A pit of dread grows inside Zayn the more the wheels start to turn, and he wants to run. Wants to race as far away from here as possible because this was the exact thing he had feared all of these years. He didn’t even want to hear the apology that was coming, it’d only make things more real and amplify the hurt that was starting to creep in. But Liam had other plans.

The wizard lifts his head to give his friend the respect he deserves. “I want to go out with you, but I can’t.” And maybe this is what real pain feels like: being told two contradictory things right after another.

“Mind explaining why not?” Anger from being told and led on to believe something different than what’s being relayed to him starts to bubble up, but Zayn’s keeping his calm, trying his best to get answers that he knows he’ll thank himself for later.

Liam bites his bottom lip and diverts his eyes to the side. “I hardly see you as it is now. I’d be a shit boyfriend. You don’t deserve that.”

His annoyance tapers at the small explanation, but Zayn’s still confused. “So the flirting and kissing and…” For whatever reason, he finds it difficult to say the last activity out loud.

“It was fun,” Liam interjects sincerely.

“Fun!?” Liam’s eyes widen at Zayn’s outburst and defensive stance. “So I’m just fun to you? Is that was this has been?”

The Gryffindor scrambles to find any words to defend himself and clear up the misunderstanding that had come from his previous answer. “No! I mean it has been, but-”

“But what?” Zayn’s stepping into Liam’s space, face and tone full of rage at being played. “You made me believe that you actually wanted me how I wanted you.”

“I do! You’re not listening!” Liam’s staying where he is, still frightened at what he’s unleashed in his best friend, but not one to cower away when he’s done wrong.

Zayn’s eyebrows are furrowed together, his eyes no longer afraid to stare into Liam’s. “What am I not hearing, huh? That there’s no time in your day to be able to take me into a stairwell and get off?” Liam winces at the lie. “Or what about sneaking me into your house-only parties just so that you can show me off all night? There’s no time for that either, right?” Zayn swallows dryly, “fuck off.”

Turning away to escape the tension filled air like he should have done in the first place, Zayn starts to walk away, but he hears footsteps following after him, Liam placing himself in front of Zayn seconds later.

“Stop!” He pushes his straight hair out of his eyes hastily before continuing, “I shouldn’t have said that, I’m sorry.” Zayn watches as the boy licks his lips, looking desperate to not have the other walk off on him again. “This year has just been a lot more than I thought I could handle, ok? That doesn’t have anything to do with you. When Louis told me about how you felt, I-”

“He what?” Zayn’s anger skyrockets and he’s completely forgetting what’s going on at that moment, only thinking about how he’s going to kill Louis the next time he sees him.

Liam now looks even more ashamed at letting the secret slip. “It wasn’t his fault. It was a misunderstanding about who you were interested in, he didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Look, I don’t need to hear your apologies. I get it, ok? We won’t go out.” Zayn starts to leave again, but Liam’s hands are on his shoulders before he gets the chance.

“Please, let me explain.” His hands drop from the other’s body once he realizes Zayn won’t take off, but he’s still acutely aware that one slip up and that could change. “I care about you a lot and I don’t want you to to have to always be figuring out when I’m free and when I’m not. That’s not fair to you.”

Zayn raises his eyebrows expectantly, “is that it?”

“Well, yeah,” Liam replies awkwardly before trying to bounce back. “I’m really sorry. Please don’t be angry at me for this.”

“Ok.” Zayn’s response is eerily calm and Liam knows there’s got to be a catch somewhere.

“Ok?” He double checks, body relaxing at the thought that it could be that simple.

“Ok,” Zayn repeats with a single nod. “Now fuck off.”

Before Liam has a chance, Zayn’s moving around him and walking back the way they came. This time he doesn’t hear any footsteps, only a frenzied “Zayn!”, but it’s not enough to change his mind. He’s done.

\---

Four hours later and Zayn’s sat at his desk in his room, incredibly grateful that he hadn’t created individual messaging cards for each of his friends because he’s sure he’d be getting an onslaught of questions as to what had happened and why he hadn’t shown for lunch. Truth be told, there was no way he had anywhere near an appetite after what went down that morning. Of course Liam had written to him since then, but Zayn couldn’t bring himself to read the note, nor endure the increasing temperature in his pocket, so he tucked the cards away in his desk drawer and left it at that.

Staring down at the grounds from where he’s sat, Charms research abandoned in front of him, Zayn replays the scene in his mind for the thousandth time.

Blindsighted. That was the only way he could describe how he felt. After the first hour or so he had gotten over Liam’s use of the word ‘fun’ as being anything other than literal; Zayn couldn’t disagree that the close moments that they had shared _weren’t ‘_ fun’. What he refused to ignore was the way in which he _used_ him for fun, knowing damn well that he wasn’t going to be able to follow through with anything other than what time allowed.

If Liam had told him up front that he couldn’t commit, but would be up for a no strings attached sort of thing, Zayn doesn’t think he would have gone along with it. With anyone else he might have, but with the one person that he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to get over, it would be impossible to avoid the inevitable attachment. It was just his luck that he didn’t even have a choice in the matter, that’s just what ended up happening anyway.

Staring down at his work, Zayn wonders how he’s going to be able to finish the project knowing that his original inspiration came from the same person he couldn’t stand to think about. Shuffling the papers into a neat stack, Zayn trades them for his Potions work, thankful that at least he had plenty of material to lose himself in outside of Charms.

An exhaustion hits the male later that night, though he’s not sure if it’s from doing so much revising or driven by emotional strain. Either way, he rolls into bed, checking the group index message just in case there’s anything he needs to know, but finding it cold. Zayn can only imagine what Liam must’ve told them when the Ravenclaw didn’t show up for diner either, instead having Elijah bring him back something appetizing. When asked if he was ok, Zayn just lied and said he didn’t want to interrupt his thought process to get up and eat. The whole interaction made him wonder how long he’d be in his feelings about this whole deception.

There’s no way the five of them could remain a solid group if he holed himself up in his room out of resentment for the rest of the year. He needed his time to figure out his next move, and if that involved skipping a few meals here and there, then so be it.

\---

By the looks on the other four’s faces when he walked through the door to Charms the next morning, it’s clear they don’t feel the same way.

“Told you he’d be here,” Zayn can hear Niall whisper loudly to Louis as he makes his way further into the classroom. There’s a gap between the blonde and Liam, a clear indicator that the latter hadn’t fully disclosed the details as to what happened between them to the group, otherwise Niall would have most likely taken Zayn’s seat to mediate.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to him if one or two of their jaws dropped when he walked right past the table and took the empty seat next Harry. Not only did he want to stay as far away from Liam as possible, but Zayn knew that out of all four of them, Harry would be the least likely to bother him while simultaneously being the most empathetic.

“What the fuck Zayn?” Louis whispers as Flitwick starts down the middle aisle towards the podium at the front of the room. He’s practically leaning over Harry’s entire body to try and get closer than his seating arrangement on the other side of his boyfriend allows him. “Do you not check your messages anymore? We all thought you died!”

“We didn’t think you died,” Harry corrects, though his facial expression showed that he was just as concerned as if they did. “Are you ok though?”

“Couldn’t be more relaxed if I was sleeping,” Zayn answers sarcastically. “Left my cards in my room. My bad.” His attitude is so blase that Louis ramps up even more instead of feeling satisfied at getting some sort of explanation - fake or not.

“Since when do you leave your cards back?” The Slytherin stays in his stretched out position as we waits for a response, completely ignoring the fact that the professor has started the lesson.

Due to his late arrival Zayn’s still taking out his materials, not even bothering to entertain his friend, which has Louis even more frustrated.

“He’s clearly upset, leave him be,” Harry whispers to Louis, gently pushing the boy back into his own seat.

While sitting next to the Hufflepuff had its perks, one downfall of his seating choice was the ever present feeling of Liam staring into the back of his head throughout the entire lecture. Zayn still hadn’t managed to look at him and he didn’t plan on it, at least not today. The last thing he wanted was another apology and begging visage to go along with it.

When the class lets out Louis practically barrels over Harry to get to Zayn. “Alright, care to explain why we haven’t seen you in twenty four hours?”

Zayn’s already coming up with a way out of this as he’s packing up his things. “I’ve got a tutoring session before Potions. Can we talk about this later?”

“Bullocks,” Louis chides, frustration building up once more. “Our class starts in an hour, there’s no way you have time for a session in between then.”

Harry looks at where Niall’s gathering up his things, Liam’s retreating figure the only evidence that he was even sitting next to the blonde in the first place. “Liam told us you guys got into a fight, but we didn’t think it was this bad.”

Because it’s Harry, Zayn keeps his emotions in check, slinging his bag over his shoulder and finally looking him in the eye. “Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll tell you guys when I see you next, yeah?”

Not wanting to wait for a response, he merely turns around and heads for the door.

\---

Against his better judgement, Zayn gets to Potions early.

In the hour that he had to kill, he snuck down to the kitchens to see if there were any leftovers from breakfast or snacks that he could have that would hold him over until lunch, but that only took up so much time, and like Louis had said, not a lot could be squeezed into an hour.

Out of the corner of his eye Zayn sees the three boys walk in, causing him to finish up the notes he was writing and get ahead of the conversation rather than wait to follow Louis’ brash demands.

“So what’d he tell you?” He asks while the small group’s just barely entering his vicinity.

“Not a lot,” Niall answers, carefully moving one of Zayn’s books to make room for his own. “He skipped out on lunch too so we thought it was good news.”

“Until you didn’t show up to dinner and he looked like he was run over by a bus,” Louis adds, pulling out one of the stools to sit on. “Then we had our doubts.”

Thank god they had a Harry in the group to be the one to fill in the gaps. “He just said that you two got in an argument and you might be pretty pissed at him for a while. Told Louis that he was sorry for not keeping their secret.”

Zayn can see Louis race to apologize for the screw up, but he shakes his head nonchalantly. “I’m not mad, don’t worry.”

The Slytherin seems surprised, but takes it for what it is as Harry continues. “So we’ve already put together that this is about the date.”

“He’s too busy for one apparently,” Zayn discloses shortly, playing with his quill to try and distract himself from what was coming.

“Uh huh…” Louis eggs on, not at all believing that there wasn’t any more to the story than that.

“He used me, alright?” Zayn snaps, regretting how aggressive it sounded and running a hand over his hair to calm himself down. “Said whatever we were doing was fun, but that he couldn’t see himself being in a relationship with me because I deserve someone who could be around more. As if it was my choice and not something he was choosing for me.” A smile grew from the sheer ridiculousness of it all. “Honestly, I’m glad it all happened. If it hadn’t, then who knows how much longer I would have been his play thing for.”

Louis tries to process what he’s being told, all signs of his typical joking demeanor gone. “He was willing to just keep going on with your...whatever that was, until you said something?”

“Seems that way,” Zayn replies in an aggravated tone, watching as the rest of their classmates filled the desks near them.

An itch causes Niall to readjust his green and silver tie. “No wonder you didn’t want to sit with him in Charms.”

Harry shakes his head right as Professor Slughorn enters the room. “I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that Liam’s even capable of something like that, much less towards _you_ of all people.”

“Yeah, well, now you know.” Zayn goes to turn in his seat, but Louis stops him with a hand on his upper arm.

“Hey, I’m really sorry,” the boy says quietly with a guilty expression.

“I already told you,” Zayn insists, “I’m not mad about you telling him. He said it was an accident.”

“No, I mean for this whole thing.” Louis takes a deep breath and Zayn’s not sure when the last time he’d ever seen his friend this distraught was. “If it wasn’t for my pushing you to do anything, you wouldn’t be starving yourself to avoid coming into contact with him.”

“Don’t blame yourself, ok?” The younger male looks Louis straight on to make sure that he understands there’s no resentment. “Neither one of us could have seen this coming. And I haven’t been starving myself, Elijah brought me dinner and I ate before coming here.”

“Good.” There’s relief in the boy’s expression and voice, thankful that not only was his friendship still in tact, but Zayn was eating. “You know you can come to any of us if you need anything, right?”

“I’d fucking hope so. Didn’t put in six years worth of getting you out of trouble and doing your arithmancy homework for nothing.”

Zayn sends him the smallest of smiles to accompany his sarcastic comment to let him know _not to worry, I’m gonna be ok_.

Even with his friends knowing the details of the fallout, Zayn still pauses when he walks into the Great Hall with them after class.

“I’m gonna sit with Elijah today,” he says after his moment of hesitation. “I’ve got a lot of work to do later, so this and dinner will have to replace our usual meet up tonight.”

With the lie being as unable to prove as it was, Zayn didn’t expect much of a push back, but when he stopped scanning the Ravenclaw table to find the boy he was looking for and turned to his friends, he could tell that they weren’t completely sold.

Harry pushes Louis forward some, a look of understanding on his face. “We want to see you at breakfast tomorrow though.”

It’s hardly anything more than a request, but for Harry it was as close to a hostile warning as he was going to get.

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Zayn promises before heading off to where he had spotted Elijah eating.

“So is this what things are going to be like from now on?” Niall asks when the now group of three finds their spot.

“Zayn just needs some time,” Harry answers as he takes in the spread that’s on offer, trying to decide what looks appealing enough to take. “He’ll come around. For now just let him be down on himself. Hell, if it were me I don’t even think I’d look half as put together as he does.”

“Except I’d never even dream of doing that to you,” Louis objects, dropping a piece of meat onto his plate haphazardly out of irritation. “I mean who does Liam think he is? Going along for some ride because it’s convenient for-” Louis’ rant is cut short when he feels a sharp kick to his ankles from Harry. “What?”

Looking up he notices Liam standing with a book in his left hand, hurt written all over his face at what was being said of him.

“Either take a seat or take a hike,” Louis barks, not at all fazed by the other hearing whatever he had.

Liam’s eyes glance at the other two to see if they had anything to say, but Niall’s just staring back at him waiting to see if he has the balls to sit down while Harry’s avoiding any sort of eye contact period.

With the most outspoken of the bunch being the one to offer him the option to sit, Liam felt safe enough to place his book down on the table and take a seat. “So he told you,” he says in a small voice.

“What do you think?” Niall grumbles across from him, visibly pissed off with a set jaw.

Liam watches as the others make their plates, too focused on defending himself to even think about eating. “I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“No, you just wanted to have your cake and eat it too.” Louis shoots him a pointed stare, wanting to see how Liam planned on talking himself out of _that_ truth.

“It wasn’t like that, ok?” He responds passionately, determined to set the record straight. “I agreed to the date because I wanted to be with him.” Liam quickly corrects himself, “I **_do_** want to be with him. And I thought that we could figure out my schedule to make it work, but then the faster the year keeps moving the more that gets added to my pile and I realized that it’s just not fair to put him through that.”

Niall swallows his bite of lamb and mint pasty, feelings of belligerence still noticeable when he speaks. “So when were you planning on telling _him_ that, because it seems to me like you were just going to hope he forgot and let it go on.”

Liam’s struggling to keep his friends from turning on him entirely, frantic to think up something to say. “I-”

“He’s **Zayn** , Liam.”

Harry cuts him off with a power and intensity that’s much more effective than if he had done so by simply raising his voice. They all stop and stare at the boy, now simmering in his seat, and let the unspoken meaning behind the emphasis on the Ravenclaw’s name hang in the air. “He’s going to sit with us tomorrow at breakfast, so sort yourself out by then.”

Still shocked at being called out by the normally level headed Hufflepuff, Liam doesn’t know how to respond, so he bows his head and stays quiet for the rest of the meal.

\---

**_June 20th._ **

_Zayn stares at the calendar in front of him and counts the amount of days it’s been since he’s moved from London. Thirteen._

_He’s not sure why he does it to himself every morning - keep a mental tally. Surely it’d be wiser to get rid of any lingering hope of being able to go back home to his parents and the city he loves rather than have a quantitative dose of reality. Today there’s also two words that accompany the number in the box: Father’s Day._

_Liam’s been going on about this cool tie he had gotten his Dad to wear to work at the Department of Magic Transportation for days now, but Zayn had tuned him out any time he brought it up, making sure he did his best to look like that wasn’t the case. But he doubts he can get away with ignoring the holiday now that it’s here._

_For a second he thinks about going back to bed or staying in his room past breakfast so he doesn’t have to witness the gift exchanges and Liam’s inevitable overly enthusiastic facial expressions from being able to please his Father, but his absence would surely cause him more trouble than it was worth. Just like any other day since arriving in Wolverhampton, he just needed to make it to tomorrow._

_Rounding the kitchen corner, Zayn was grateful to see that there weren’t any over-the-top decorations, just a huge feast laid out on the table._

_“Good morning Zayn!” Mrs. Payne greets from where she’s standing, watching as enchanted utensils whip up a last minute batch of orange juice._

_“Morning,” he replies, surprised at how quickly he had become so immune to the magic ongoings of the house. Mostly, that is. A few days ago he had walked in on one of Liam’s sisters using floo powder to visit her Dad at work and just about pissed himself at the image of the girl going up in green flames._

_“Do you like it!?”_

_Zayn’s head turns in the direction of Liam’s bellowing voice, most likely coming from the sitting room._

_“Would you mind helping me set the table Zayn?” Mrs. Payne’s words have him focusing back on her and the food that was surrounded by empty table settings._

_“Yeah, of course.” Accustomed to where everything is by now, Zayn unloads what he needs from the drawers and carefully places the silverware in their respective order, followed by the plates._

_Every now and again he sneaks a glance into the front room, wondering what was going on and why Liam hadn’t invited him in. Typically the boy wants Zayn to be apart of every minute of his day, so this is out of character for him, but when he’s sat in his seat and sees Mr. Payne walk in wearing the broomstick patterned tie, he fully gets it - they didn’t want him to have to be reminded of what he didn’t have._

_“Hey Zayn!” Liam’s slipping into his seat next to his friend, cheerful as always._

_“Hey,” the boy responds, not nearly as upbeat as the other, but normal enough to not make him question anything._

_Once the rest of the family joins them, Zayn fades into the background more than usual, eating his eggs and toast as the others chat about their upcoming week and anything else they deem fit for a sunday morning breakfast._

_“What’s wrong?” Liam whispers while his sister tells a story about something that had happened when she had gone to the Ministry a few days prior._

_Zayn looks to the male and is met with concern. “Nothing.” It’s short, but he hopes Liam just chalks it up to how Zayn’s just a lot quieter than he is by nature._

_Luckily it shuts Liam up for the rest of the meal, but just barely._

_“Are you sure you’re ok?” He asks again when they’re walking out of the house and into the cul de sac for their usual morning skateboard lesson._

_“I told you I’m fine,” Zayn growls, dropping his board down and drifting with it to clear his mind._

_Liam sits on the curb and watches, chin resting in his propped up hands. “You seem off…”_

_In order to get out some of his negative energy, Zayn pops a kickflip. “Could I do that if I was off?”_

_“You’re a wicked skateboarder. I’m sure you could do it in your sleep,” Liam compliments, shielding the sun from his eyes with his right hand._

_Shaking his head at how incessantly naive Liam was, Zayn continues to skate around the paved street to avoid answering any other question the boy threw at him. When he’s tired enough, he pushes back over to where Liam’s sat and trades places with him. “Just practice on going up and down,” he nods to the asphalt in reference._

_Looking between the board and Zayn, Liam hesitates, but ultimately does as he’s told and goes off to practice._

_It was the third time later that afternoon that really got to Zayn._

_“But you always want to go into town,” Liam says perplexed. “Do you feel poorly or...what’s wrong?”_

_“I said I don’t want to go! Why don’t you mind your own business?” Zayn seethes, slamming his bedroom door in Liam’s face._

_Falling onto the bed, he listens to the silence of the room, but his head turns to the door when he hears a tiny “I’m sorry”, followed by footsteps walking away._

_If Zayn wasn’t already distraught by the day’s meaning, he’d have gone after Liam, but his body stays where it is._

_Hours pass, and there was never a time where Zayn had wanted his iPod to work more than today. He’d gone from taking a nap to drawing to now reading, but he’s interrupted by a knock on the door, too engulfed in his book to even hear the warning footsteps._

_“Zayn?”_

_In a second the boy’s up from his seat and opening the door for Mrs. Payne._

_“Liam and the girls have gone out to dinner. It’s just you and I for tea.” She looks past him into his room to make sure things were alright. “Are you hungry?”_

_He’s starving, but he simply nods and follows her down to the kitchen._

_“I talked to Liam,” she starts when they’re both sat at the table across from each other. “We all knew today might be a bit hard on you, but he just doesn’t know how to keep from being nosy sometimes.”_

_Zayn stays quiet, serving himself a slice of the lasagna and letting the woman continue._

_“I know you don’t want to hear it, but I’m sorry about what happened to you.” The boy does his best to stop from flinching at the apology, keeping his eyes down on his plate. “Liam’s never had all that many friends, so when you came, he might have gone a bit overboard.”_

_“I like his enthusiasm,” Zayn finally speaks up, wiping his mouth to rid it of any sauce._

_“I’m glad,” the woman grins. “But occasionally he crosses the line between caring and pushing someone's buttons.”_

_“I know he means well, it’s just…” He looks away from Mrs. Payne’s gaze. “Today was hard having to watch him with his Dad, and every time he asked me if I was fine it was like a reminder that I wasn’t and I-” Zayn shakes his head, pushing around a piece of noodle. “I guess I just snapped.”_

_There’s sympathy in the woman’s eyes as she stares at the small boy, trying to come up with something to make him feel better. “Do you like chocolate chip cookies?”_

_Looking up from his plate, Zayn nods in response._

_“I’ll make some after dinner. Sound good?”_

_It’s no Father’s Day miracle, but Zayn has to give the woman credit for trying. “Yeah, sounds good.”_

_When he’s up in his room trying to figure out what comic to read for the night, Zayn hears three knocks on his door, this time the sound of a plate being placed on the ground and retreating footsteps coming immediately after them._

_Opening the door, Zayn’s met with a plate holding two chocolate chip cookies. He looks down the hallway, but doesn’t see anyone, only the door to Liam’s room open. Picking up the plate, he makes his over and sees the boy at his desk looking through his quidditch trading cards._

_“Are these from you?”_

_Liam nearly jumps when he hears Zayn’s voice, keeping an air of cautiousness when he realizes who it is after their altercation earlier. “Yeah. Mum told me to bring you some.”_

_Zayn nods, looking down at the dessert. “Thanks.” When he brings his attention back to Liam, he can see the way the boy’s holding his breath in anticipation of what he’ll say next. “Do you want one?”_

_Once Liam knows he’s not going to be yelled at again, or at least not until after he’s answered the question, he gets out of his chair to meet Zayn in the doorway. “I had two already.”_

_The raven chuckles, “you’re a rebel.” At the sound of Zayn’s laugh, Liam’s lips curl up into a smile. “Let’s go downstairs though, I want to get some milk.”_

_“You never drink milk,” Liam points out, lost._

_“Not to drink, to dunk.” Seeing the other’s face only **gain** confusion makes Zayn raise his eyebrows in his own surprise. “You’ve never dunked a cookie in milk?”_

_Liam shakes his head, “not that I remember.”_

_After taking a deep breath from learning yet another thing that Liam has no clue about, Zayn starts to turn around, but he’s stopped._

_“So you’re not mad at me anymore?”_

_All Zayn can see from his friend’s face is the need to be accepted and told things were going to be alright again, so that’s exactly what he gives him. “I’m about to teach you how to dunk a cookie like a pro. I don’t do that with people I’m mad at.”_

_Not even a second goes by before Liam’s eyes are scrunched up from his massive smile, a much smaller version appearing on Zayn’s face._

_“How do you feel about Green Lantern being our comic for tonight?” The raven asks, leading the way towards the stairs._

_“He’s the one that smashes things, right?”_

_“Wh- Liam…”_

_“What!? That guy’s green, I can’t be too far off!”_

_“The Hulk is nowhere near Green Lantern. What am I going to do with you…”_

Hints of sunlight cast through the Ravenclaw dormitory, giving Zayn all he needs to know that he’s not going to be falling back asleep if he wants to make it to breakfast on time like he promised Harry.

With his first fight with Liam still fresh in his mind, Zayn groans as he forces himself out of bed.

\---

Every morning of the rest of the week starts with the same thing: unpleasant memories with Liam on rotation.

Waking up earlier than usual helps with making sure he doesn’t skip out on breakfast since he’s just about starving by the time nine o’clock finally rolls around, but nothing seems to aid in lessening the solemn mood that now lives within the group when they’re all together eating. If it weren’t for the grounding that they all provided each other, Zayn probably would’ve sat with Teddy until things got any better between him and Liam.

He can tell that the others are starting to wonder when that time’s going to come, and he doesn’t blame them. It’s been six days since the blowout and all Zayn’s managed to do was avoid Liam at all costs, evading him when the other tried to get him alone mid-week to talk included. Even though he’s a studious person to begin with, Zayn’s glad that he can use the fact that it’s far enough into the school year that he needs to really focus on his work as an excuse for not being able to hang out with the others. Thursday night he had joined Niall in the library, but they were both so caught up in what they were doing, that there wasn’t much talking.

Now that Saturday’s come around, Zayn should be in the right mind to at least pay his friends a visit for a few hours, but instead he’s sat on the stairs in the owlery, one hand feeding Abra and Loki a few treats while the other holds his Urdu book.

Not a lot of students ventured up to the 8th floor space, mostly because of the coldness and lingering owl scent, but that’s why Zayn liked it, minus the odd screeches and loud purrs every now and again. It was never the first place that people would go to find him, and for that reason he always brought a book with him to read in peace. In fact there was only really one person who he had told of his refuge, which was why when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs, he didn’t need to look to know who it was.

“Can I join you?” Liam asks, rubbing his hands together to create any sort of heat that he could.

Throwing a few treats onto the floor away from the stairs for the owls to move, Zayn scoots over to make room for the boy to sit. It’s a bit close for their first time properly talking, but it’s all that they’ve got to work with and Zayn knows he can’t run from Liam forever, so mind as well just make it as painful as possible and have him shoulder to shoulder with him while they’re at it.

“Brushing up?” The Gryffindor nods to the book that’s now closed and sat in the other’s lap.

“Yeah.” Zayn really hopes that this conversation doesn’t revolve around awkward small talk; it’d be better for them to just put everything out on the table rather than dance around it. “I don’t want to be rude, but I was kind of in the middle of it actually, so if you want to feed Loki or whatever then go for it. I already gave him a few treats. Otherwise, I’d like it if I could go back to reading.”

“Right, no, I get it,” Liam sputters, looking away towards their two owls. “Thanks for the treats. I mean, for giving Loki some, not me.”

Zayn can’t help but feel a hint of satisfaction at the other’s inability to act as smooth as normal, but he doesn’t show it. “Sure.”

“But I was looking for you actually…”

Hearing the words ignites a fire instantly. “Schedule gave you time for that then, huh?”

Hurt flashes over Liam’s face at the mockery. “Zayn, I’m sor-”

“I don’t want to hear it, alright?” Zayn cuts him off defiantly. “If you’ve come to apologize then you really _can_ leave because I don’t need to listen it it.” He watches as both owls take off through an open window and into the sky. “I get it, I get **all** of it. I’m just taking some time to process it, and I’m sorry that that doesn’t mean twenty four hours. You’ve been my best friend for six years, that’s not how this works. Maybe that’s how it works for you, but that’s not how it does for me.”

With their pets gone, Liam twists his body to face Zayn regardless of the tight space, but the Ravenclaw stays looking forward. “It’s not like that for me either,” he admits. “This past week has been torture and I wish that I could reverse it all so that things could go back to how they were.”

The way that Liam makes it sound so simple, and like the small moments that _did_ happen were ones that were easy for him to be ok with not having happened in the first place, makes Zayn’s blood boil, yet he can’t help but agree to some extent. It’s getting a taste of it all, only for it to be ripped out from underneath you as a cruel reminder that it wasn’t there to stay, that’s crippled Zayn.

“Now you know how I feel,” he replies sternly. “For over three years I sat at that table and watched you and listened and hoped that maybe one day **_I_** could be the one you were excited to take out. Maybe you’d be asking the others for advice on what gift to surprise **_me_** with just because you wanted me to know how special I was to you.” Memories flooded his mind, but Zayn shoved them away to the back where they lived. “Do you know how difficult that was?”

Liam looks away from the male, focusing on the foreign script that flowed over the front cover of his book beautifully. “I never-”

“No, let me finish,’ Zayn says in a demanding tone, determined to get out what he has to say. “You’re my best friend. My **best friend** , Liam.” Finally he lets himself look at the boy next to him, eyes projecting how wounded he feels. “You and I have been through everything together, literally and figuratively. You were there when I almost got bit by that dog that chased us when we got lost on the east side and we were together when you got written up in the papers for the first time as ‘a quidditch player to watch’. _You_ were the one who opened the door when I got to your house that summer. _You_ were the one who taught me everything I know about magic.” He watches as Liam takes in the weight of his words. “Yeah, I’ve got a problem with abandonment, but I didn’t want to risk what we had because I was **more** worried about losing my foundation to magic.”

Zayn’s tone has shifted considerably from agitated to vulnerable, and he knows Liam can tell. “You’re not just some guy I room with during the summer or who knows my secrets, you _are_ the wizarding world to me. I don’t know life as a wizard without you and I-” His eyes cast down to the small space on the steps between them. “I never wanted to know what that _would_ be like, but now I guess I have to.”

“I’m not leaving you.” Liam’s voice is barely above a whisper, the owlery feeling like it’s not that at all, but more like one of their old childhood hideaways.

“And I’m still trying to figure out if that’s better or worse,” Zayn confesses with a shameful expression from letting the boy in on his honest thoughts. “At the end of the day, you’re still the person that I made all those memories with, and I’ll never be able to thank you and your family enough for what you did for me, so I’m not saying we can’t be friends, I just need some space for the time being.”

“I can do that,” Liam replies solemnly. “And I know you don’t want to hear it, but I have to say I’m sorry one more time. It’s not as though I was faking any of it or doing it out of selfishness.” Zayn can’t help but shoot him a scathing look, one that causes Liam to jump into defense mode. “I know it may have seemed that way, but I swear I wasn’t playing around. I wanted it to work. If this was last year then maybe-”

“If this was last year then you’d still have the same schedule you have now and I wouldn’t have wanted to be the reason you turned down the Head Boy position, so don’t try and make it out to be something that it’s not,” Zayn argues with a sharp tongue, not liking how the conversation took a more contentious turn on his end.

Apparently Liam didn’t either.

“I should let you get back to your reading.” Standing up and wiping off his trousers, the boy looked down at Zayn with a hopeful half-smile. “See you at dinner?”

They both know the answer’s yes, Harry would drag him out of his Tower if he didn’t, but Zayn knows Liam just wants to hear him say it out loud for his own sake. “Yeah. See you at dinner.”

\---

Just like the week before, the next week drags on, except this time it involves a lot less of Zayn dodging Liam completely. In fact, he even manages to greet the the boy any time they share a meal, although, thanks to quidditch season being in full swing, those instances can still be unpredictable. It may not be a lot, but to Zayn, it’s progress.

“You guys are coming to the game tomorrow, right?” He asks Harry quietly during their late morning Transfiguration class, Professor Jones leaving them to work amongst themselves for the rest of of the hour.

“Wouldn’t miss Elijah’s quidditch debut,” the boy replies, Zayn appreciating _that_ being what he uses to associate with the game, rather than it being Louis and Niall’s team playing his own. “He’s probably pretty nervous I’d imagine.”

Tinkering with his bookmark, Zayn conjures up the last memory he has of the young wizard when he had asked him the same thing a few days prior. “Likes to pretend he isn’t, but I think he’s one hard door slam away from a heart attack. Muggleborn _seeker_?” Zayn raises his eyebrows, “that’s way too much pressure for me.”

Harry shakes his curls out, flattening them to the right. “Especially if your house wants to win the cup back from Gryffindor.”

And it’s true, he’s not sure how Elijah’s dealing with the stress of playing the position that decides the end of the game, while also participating in one of the most competitive seasons in years.

“Yeah, he didn’t exactly pick the easiest of years to join, but I told Teddy to try and go easy on him. Doubt he’ll listen, but it was worth a shot.” Zayn shrugs, not even bothering to pretend like he was doing any of the work laid out in front of him.

“Are you going to sit with us?”

Zayn looks at Harry with a suspicious gaze. “Why are you asking me that?”

“D’unno,” the Hufflepuff responds casually. “Since your team’s playing, I wasn’t sure if you were going to use that as an excuse to sit in the Ravenclaw section instead of wherever we choose.” At the insinuation Zayn starts to bounce his leg lightly, uneasy at how easy he was to predict. “Probably my side if you do end up sitting with us,’ Harry reasons. “Might not be all that wise to stand alongside your opponents in the Slytherin area just in case Elijah does pull through.”

“I’m getting better with Liam,” the older wizard says with conviction, eyes glancing around their desk to make sure that no one nearby was listening in.

“Technically not ignoring him entirely _is_ an improvement,” Harry recognizes, “but your pace, anytime it concerns Liam, tends to be a slow one.”

He’s not wrong, so there’s no way that Zayn can flat out deny it, but he still doesn’t want to fully concede to the statement either. “I’m doing my best to not let it affect the rest of the group, but we all knew that this was a possible outcome.”

“I know, I know,” Harry agrees quickly, not wanting to give off the wrong impression. “I’m the impartial one, remember? I’m not telling you to heal faster.”

Zayn stops his leg from shaking, curious as to what his friend’s getting at. “Then what _are_ you telling me?”

Harry stops taking whatever notes he was writing and looks at Zayn with candor. “That I miss the regular Zayn.”

A few moments pass before the curly haired boy goes back to writing, but Zayn can’t just act normal after being told that his lack of interest and self-isolation lately was enough for Harry to have been that affected by it.

“So you’ll sit with us?”

Zayn’s brought out his thoughts by Harry’s question, feeling even worse when he knows the answer. “Actually, Professor Thomas’ bringing Elijah’s parents to the game to watch him play. I was planning on sitting with them.” He sits up straight in his chair, taking a deep breath while doing so. “You know, introduce myself, explain the game, the whole thing. I’ll be there for dinner though, ok?”

Now that he knows how serious he needs to be towards his group of friends, namely Harry, he makes sure that the boy’s “yeah” is genuine.

“I’m sorry if I’ve been a shit friend recently,” Zayn adds, knowing that it doesn’t hurt to put everything out on the line for his mate to fully believe him. “This is between Liam and I, you shouldn’t have to feel split.”

Harry brushes the peacock feather of his quill up against his jaw. “It’s alright, just give Louis’ mouth a run for its money and I’ll know you’re back to normal.”

Zayn goes from strict to comical once he’s heard what’s requested of him. “Have I been _that_ distracted that I’ve missed something?”

“I may be Louis’ boyfriend, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t like to see him challenged every once and awhile.” Zayn’s grinning when he remembers how cheeky the younger boy can be, his lips turning up higher when the feather’s now being pointed in his direction. “That’s your job.”

\---

The next morning Zayn considers sitting with Elijah at breakfast to help ease his nerves, but decides against it when he sees that he’s already sitting with the rest of the quidditch team.

Again, the thought comes to mind at lunch, but it occurs to Zayn that the last thing he wants to do is make the boy even more stressed by coming off as some sort of over protective parental figure trying to undermine his confidence and ultimately embarrass him, so he holds off once more.

Maybe those two times weren’t ideal, but Zayn would be damned if he wasn’t going to say _something_ before the first year entered the pitch.

Walking down to the Ravenclaw changing room after leaving his Charms project behind, Zayn nodded at a few house members that were already shouting prideful chants at anyone dressed in blue and silver.

“Elijah!” He calls, jogging lightly to where the boy’s just about to enter the team-only area.

The seeker stops in his tracks and smiles gratefully when he sees who was coming his way. “Hey! You just missed my parents. Professor Thomas took them up to the stands a couple minutes ago.”

Zayn looks to where the aforementioned group would have walked, but doesn’t see the familiar teacher anywhere in sight. “I was going to sit with them, so no worries, I’ll introduce myself later.” He looks at the boy all dressed up in his uniform. “Look at you! Proper wizard Beckham.”

They both laugh at the comparison, Elijah running a hand down the front of his jersey to smooth out any wrinkles, though Zayn thinks it’s more of a nervous tick than anything else.

“I expect you to call me that from now on,” the younger Ravenclaw jokes with a playful smile.

“Catch the snitch and then we’ll talk,” Zayn dishes back before giving him a concerned look. “Be careful, ok? You’ve seen the good and bad side of Slytherin, but the quidditch pitch is free game. For anyone, but especially them.”

Elijah points behind him with his thumb. “Teddy already gave me the whole talk. You don’t have to worry, I’ll be fine.”

Zayn’s sure that the Ravenclaw captain had given him the run down of the possible scenarios and what to look out for, but being around a quidditch player like Liam for years had him seeing some pretty scary stuff. Right now putting the images into Elijah's head probably wasn’t the best idea, so he let the topic go. “Alright, well, I just thought I’d wish you good luck.”

“Fingers crossed I won’t need it.” He holds up his right pointer and middle fingers intertwined, a hopeful expression along with it. “But thanks, that means a lot.”

Since getting him his broom, Zayn’s only seen Elijah fly once during a scrimmage and he’d have to say that he was pretty decent. Not amazing, like Liam had been straight out of the gate, but certainly decent. Considering the fact that he’s close with two of the four quidditch team captains, Zayn likes to think he can tell good from bad, but he still holds up his own twisted fingers for support. “Of course. I’ll see you after.”

“Deal.”

The two exchange smiles before Zayn starts to walk towards the visitors seating stairs, freezing when he hears Elijah’s voice once more.

“Hey Liam.”

Turning around, Zayn sees the Gryffindor standing only a few feet away in the spot where he just was, dressed casually in dark jeans and a grey hoodie.

“Hey,” Liam greets cheerfully. “You about to go on?”

“In a few. Zayn just-” Elijah stops himself when he sees that the person he’s mentioning hasn’t gone very far at all.

Liam’s eyes follow and settle on Zayn as well. “Hey…” he says with a courteous, closed mouth smile.

Zayn wants to ask what he’s doing there, but it’s clear that Liam doesn’t mean any harm and is trying to be as cordial as possible, so it’s only right that he’s given the same treatment. “Hey.”

A beat goes by and it almost makes Zayn ask his initial question, but Liam turns back to Elijah before he gets the chance. “Wanted to come and say good luck.”

The young boy suddenly lights up at the thought that someone as important in school quidditch as Liam would come to tell him such a thing, Zayn’s friend or not. “Really? Thanks, but,” he pauses unsurely. “Are you...allowed to do that?”

Liam’s own face brightens when he hears the question. “To wish you luck? Pretty sure that’s not against the rules.”

For the first time, Zayn sees Elijah's cheeks turn red at being corrected. “I know, but you’re…never mind.” The boy shakes his head, knowing it’s not even worth getting into since it’s relatively obvious that Liam and his friends don’t follow typical house norms, so why would his quidditch alliance change that? “Thank you,” he adds once more to emphasize his gratitude.

Liam keeps his smile, “You’re welcome. Not a lot of people make their teams first year, so you should be proud.”

Gone is any sign of embarrassment, Elijah gaining a look of sarcasm at the open opportunity. “Aren’t you one of them?”

Now Zayn’s the one smiling, proud at Liam having been called out for the humble brag, his arms crossing over his chest as he waits to see how this plays out.

“Yeah,” Liam admits shyly, “ but it’s not about me. Just go out there and enjoy yourself.” He gestures to the pitch that’s getting louder as more people find their seats. “If you win, that just means you’re one step closer to playing me in the cup.”

Elijah matches Liam’s smirk, a bit more seriously than the Gryffindor’s playful one however. “One step closer to watching you _lose_ the cup.”

Breaking out of his character, Liam sticks his hands in his pockets to gain some warmth. “We’ll see…”

“Thanks again,” Elijah says for the last time, “but I should go.” Looking between the two friends, he waits for a second before disappearing into the changing rooms.

Zayn feels the atmosphere shift once it’s just him and Liam. Neither one of them make a move in any direction, but for once he’s glad, because what Liam just did didn’t deserve to go unnoticed.

“That was really nice of you,” Zayn starts, dropping his arms so as to not appear intimidating, “to come see him. If you were doing that for me, you really didn’t have to.”

Liam shakes his head, “I know him because of you, but I know what it’s like to be in his shoes. Maybe not the pressures of a seeker, but a first year at least.” He licks his lips quickly, “you cover the non-magic end of it and I cover the playing aspect.”

Zayn chuckles, tilting his head slightly. “I don’t recall asking for a co-mentor.”

“Well too bad,” Liam argues with humour, a grin on his face at being able to banter back and forth like this. “Are you coming to sit with us?”

“No.” With one word Liam’s entire demeanor changes. “Elijah’s parents are here so I’m going up to sit with them.”

“Oh.” He shifts in his spot, expression not as torn up now that he knew he wasn’t the reason why. “I didn’t know they were coming.”

“Yeah, well, they did.” It’s not the most astute of responses, especially coming from Zayn, but he thinks it’s better than saying anything about how Liam doesn’t know a lot about his life these past couple of weeks, so how would he know?

“Good for him,” the male replies, Zayn being able to tell that he’s getting uncomfortable with how the conversation between them is drying out, but not wanting to end it anyway.

Like he had said to Harry the day before, things were improving between the two, but Zayn would be lying if he said he didn’t miss their natural friendship and discourse just as much as Liam seemed to be. Things just weren’t that easy now and Zayn really does hate the both of them for it.

“Yeah…The game’s gonna start soon and I want to introduce myself before so…” He looks behind him at where he should be already climbing the stairs and then back at the male in front of him, hoping that the other gets the hint and accepts the excuse as an easy out.

“I should go find the boys too,” Liam agrees, but still doesn’t make any effort to leave his spot.

The only way to end the stalemate that Liam was creating seemed to be up to Zayn. “Alright, I’ll see you later then.” Nodding, he took a few steps backward before turning around and heading up to the pitch.

Never did Zayn think he’d live to see the day when talking to his best friend would be like pulling teeth. The uncomfortable nature of being around each other, like there was so much to be said but also nothing at the same time, was all Zayn could think about as he climbed the steep steps.

Upon reaching the top, the wizard looked around to find the one person he’d know to look for.

“Zayn,” Professor Thomas says in surprise once the Ravenclaw’s standing in front of him, “didn’t expect to see you up here.” Getting up from his seat, he motions to the two adults who were sat next to him. “Mr. and Mrs. Rancourt, this is Zayn Malik, the student I had mentioned to you early on would be a good match for taking Elijah under his wing. Zayn, these are Elijah’s parents.”

Recognition of who he was had the adults standing with massive smiles, Zayn feeling his lips do the same at their reaction. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Sticking out his hand for them to shake, Zayn makes sure that he has a firm grip once the woman accepts the offer.

“The pleasure is all ours,” she replies pleasantly, soft features giving off a sense of Motherly warmth that the wizard missed sincerely. “Elijah talks so fondly of you, it’s nice to finally put a face to the name.”

“I can say the same for you two,” Zayn insists, switching over to the woman’s husband.

“He really looks up to you,” the man reveals while shaking the boy’s hand. “Thank you for helping him.”

Zayn shrugs off the compliment. “It’s really not a problem. We’re in the same house, have the same interests, and Elijah’s a genius so it’s really not work. More of a friendship I’d say than a mentorship.”

“You can imagine our worry of not being able to help him with any of this,” the woman starts, placing her hand on Zayn’s upper arm gently, “much less all the way from Brighton, so it was a great relief to hear Dean say that he knew of a bright student who’d be able to keep up with Eli and knew what he was going through. We really do owe you. Oh, and for buying him his broom! That was so kind of you to offer to do that for him.”

He’s not upset that the professor had used him as a tactic to calm the nerves of the two parents when they heard what their son was going to have to enter alone, Zayn just wonders how much he told them about his situation. He doesn’t see any sympathy in their eyes, just appreciation, so either they didn’t know the whole story or they were really good at being considerate of his feelings.

“You don’t, it’s ok,” he reassures them. “I’m sure my parents would have felt the same way.”

And Zayn really does mean that. If this were a regular boarding school, he’s sure his Mum and Dad would have been thrilled to know that their son had someone looking out for him since they couldn’t. As he takes a seat, he can’t help but think about how the boy he had just had a sickeningly awkward conversation with was _his_ saviour.

When Professor Thomas sees that Zayn’s decided to join them for longer, he checks in on why. “No five musketeers today?”

The joke goes over the two adults’ heads, Zayn doing his best to act casual about it and not think of how Harry might see this as the exact excuse he was talking about. “I wanted to introduce myself and help explain the game, but if I’m intruding then…” He trails off, realizing the possibility that maybe him inserting himself in with them wasn’t wanted.

“No, no!” Elijah’s Mother exclaims. “We’d love for you to sit with us.” Zayn relaxes at the confirmation. “Elijah’s done his best to tell us the gist, but as you can imagine, we don’t exactly know what to expect. It’d also be nice to get to know the boy who’s been spending so much time with our son as well. Dean told us you were a bit of a genius yourself.”

 _Of course he did_ , Zayn thought to himself, resisting the urge to look around Elijah’s Dad and give the teacher an unimpressed look.

“I’m not too bad with numbers,” he replies coyly, soon finding himself going into detail on what his plans were for after school and just how much he missed riding the Tube.

It’s not long before the game starts, and Zayn’s doing his best trying to fill them in on all the gaps and technicalities of the game that Elijah had left out. Like he had predicted, the Slytherins weren’t exactly playing clean and it elicited a few gasps in the crowd because of it. Luckily Elijah didn’t have to be in the thick of it, zipping around to catch the ever eluding snitch with his sense of sight and sound instead.

Watching the boy play had a strange effect on Zayn. He knew they weren’t related, hell they had only known each other for a few months, but there was an overwhelming sense of pride and attachment that he felt towards the first year. Pride for how well he was executing turns while being able to keep up with the pace of the game (it helped that the Slytherin’s also had a new seeker for the season even though he was nowhere near as inexperienced in flying as Elijah) and attachment, for feeling as though he was seeing himself on the broom in some odd projective sort of way.

Never did Zayn consider playing quidditch, not by a long shot, but just like he had become a stand out in academics within weeks of attending Hogwarts, this seemed like one of Elijah’s early moments where he was proving that he was more than capable of being as seamless of a wizard as the rest of them.

And with the final score reading **Ravenclaw: 240** , **Slytherin: 100** , Zayn was sure that he wouldn’t have a hard time convincing others of the same thing.

For a kid who was as confident in himself (or at least pretending to be, as the young wizard liked to sometimes remind him) as Elijah was, it was refreshing to see him act like an eleven year old who was just excited that his parents were there to watch his big win.

“Could you tell when I caught it?” The boy asks excitedly, all five of them walking back to the castle after meeting Elijah outside the pitch once he was done changing back into his regular clothes.

They all grin at his enthusiasm. “We were watching you the whole time, but Zayn made sure to tell us when to focus,” Mr. Rancourt notes. “He knew when you were close enough.”

“I can’t play worth sh-” Zayn stops himself before he can get the whole word out, not wanting to come off as disrespectful in front of the adults, but he’s fairly certain that they already have a good idea of what he wanted to say. “Rubbish. But I’ve got a few years of spectating under my belt.” He nudges Elijah’s side, “you did great, no luck needed.”

“Except for when I nearly lost my head from that bludger,” the male reminds him.

“Stop it, you’re going to make us worry,” his Mother warns, which only makes Elijah grin wickedly.

As they reach the entrance to the castle, Zayn stops short. “I’ll let you guys say your goodbyes.” Holding out his right hand for another round of handshakes, he smiles politely. “It was nice meeting you.”

“You too Zayn,” Elijah’s Father replies wholeheartedly, “and thank you again for everything that you’ve done.”

“It’s really no problem,” Zayn repeats for what seems like the hundredth time in the past few hours. “I’ll see you at the next game?” After receiving nods in response, he then turns to Elijah. “And I’ll see _you_ at the victory party later.”

Zayn sees the moment where Elijah remembers that the fun hasn’t ended just yet, and he pockets the memory away for safekeeping.

It turns out that’s not the last memory of the boy he saves for the day.

After dinner Zayn heads up to the common room, which, for belonging to the Ravenclaws, was actually rather rowdy; it could even rival the Gryffindor victory party he had been to two weeks prior. That was, if Zayn wanted to recall that night at all.

From the second he walks through the door until he heads up to bed he’s bombarded by Teddy and/or Elijah. In the middle of everything that he’s going through, it’s exactly the sort of night he needed. Between watching Elijah take his first sip of Butterbeer and listening to Teddy give an overly dramatic speech about how they were going to take back their rightful cup on top of one of the study tables, Zayn forgets all about his troubles outside the Ravenclaw common room.

Even when he goes to sleep he’s in such a good mood that he thinks there’s a possibility he might even get a good night’s rest for once.

_“You really don’t have to do this you know,” Zayn says uneasily as they climb the stairs to the Gryffindor common room._

_“I know,” Liam asserts, “but I want you to come.”_

_“I appreciate the loyalty Li, but I really don’t mind staying with the other lads.” They may have only known the other three for a couple of months now, but Zayn already felt close to them and was more than ok with skipping out on the first game win party if it meant he had to hang out with them. He was there to watch Liam play, this was just a really cool bonus if they could pull it off._

_“You’re my best friend and this is my first win as a quidditch player. I want you to come to the party. I don’t care if you’re not a part of my house.” Liam stops in front of the Fat Lady painting, looking straight at Zayn._

_Sighing, the Ravenclaw saw how genuine his friend was and how far he was willing to go just so that their friendship held its precedence over their housing assignments. Zayn knew that Liam liked the others in their new group just as much as he did, but they weren’t stood next to them for a reason. Whether that reason was because Liam knew he was pushing his luck with just one and had better odds that way instead of trying for all four of them, or because he wanted to strictly share this experience with Zayn only, he wasn’t sure. Either way, the older boy was immensely grateful._

_“Fine,” Zayn surrenders begrudgingly, “but if you get in trouble or get kicked off the team, don’t blame me. I tried to talk you out of it.”_

_Liam crossed his arms over his chest, “first off, I always bring you in here, so it’s not like no one knows who you are. And secondly, I don’t **want** to be a part of a team that kicks me off for bringing me best mate to a celebration that **I** helped secure.” He drops his arms and nods to the painting. “Now come on.”_

_Taking a deep breath, Zayn covers his ears as Liam says the password to reveal the red and gold decorated common room._

_Stepping in, both boys stop to take in the transformation of the place. There were banners hung up around nearly every wall, loud music playing from who knows what speaker device, tables full of all types of food and drink, and what must have been the entirety of Gryffindor house._

_“They have Butterbeer, look!”_

_Zayn looks to where Liam’s pointing, a huge barrel sitting on one of the tables and glasses scattered around it. “We’ve had it before. Your Dad let us try some this summer, remember?”_

_“Yeah, but this is on our own,” Liam says, revelling in the newfound freedom that Zayn’s not all that impressed with, and dragging his best friend to the table._

_The whole night ends up pretty much following the same pattern, Zayn getting shoved around aimlessly by an energetic Liam, including when the captain’s asking the first year Gryffindor if he knows that it’s sort of an unwritten rule that outside house members are pretty much allowed in the common room during any time **other** than parties. To which Liam replies, “well until it becomes a written one, he’s staying” and Zayn just looks at the boy in shock for being so much more outspoken than he usually was._

_They drink and they eat until they think they’re going to be sick and for a moment Zayn forgets all about the fact that he doesn’t have a home to go to next summer, things are turning out alright as they are._

Waking up, Zayn doesn’t even want to open his eyes and see the time illuminated on the clock, knowing that it’s not going to say 11AM like he wants it to, but more like 3.

At this point he’d rather be having _actual_ nightmares then the vivid as fuck recollections he kept dreaming about. That’s how much Zayn was sick of this nightly cycle. Rubbing his eyes, he makes himself get out of bed and go downstairs to see if there’s anything left over for him to wash out the bitter taste of reminiscence from his mouth.

\---

“Can you skip Muggle Studies?” Elijah asks from his seat on the music room drum stool, kit left abandoned for the time being as the boy takes a break from playing.

When Zayn had first found out about the course he thought the same thing. What new things could they teach him about himself?

“It’s an elective,” he replies, yawning lightly from where he’s laying across several classroom chairs. It’s not the most comfortable of makeshift furniture, but there’s not much else he can work with in this room, and he’d rather not lay on the cold floor. “So that’d be a yes.”

“Thank god,” Elijah sighs in relief. “Can you imagine how boring that’d be? You didn’t take it, did you?”

Zayn’s eyes are closed, but he can imagine Elijah’s probably staring at him in anticipation to be proven right.

“Nah, opted for Arithmancy, Magical Creatures, and Divination.” Realizing that this was going to be a longer conversation than just a few words between songs, Zayn decides to sit up. “Although I imagine the topics might be boring, it could be kind of fascinating to see our world taught from that point of view instead of it always being the other way around. I remember when Thomas told me he taught the class I asked him what it consisted of. It was weird to hear how the human world that we just naturally know can be broken down into categories. Bit of a dream for Niall though.”

Practically Zayn’s entire third year consisted of listening to Niall go on and on about any and every new thing he learnt in the class that Zayn hadn’t already taught him. Over the years things died down as he was able to use his knowledge to make inferences about questions that he might have, but Zayn remembers that first year of electives being one where he did _a lot_ of talking.

“You still on a high from the other night?” He asks, switching topics to something more exciting than his reflecting.

“I was,” Elijah begins in an annoyed tone, “until Teddy worked us to the bone tonight.” As if reminding himself of the painful workout, the boy stood to stretch and get out of the poor posture sitting position he was in. “For a sport that doesn’t take place on the ground, you’d be surprised on how much my muscles hurt.”

Zayn chuckles at the remark, knowing from how he got short of breath at the end of a flying session with Liam that training for a sport revolved around it couldn’t have been easy. “I don’t doubt that. My legs hurt enough having to climb the stairs up to the common room daily, so yours must be getting a beating.”

“No pain no gain though, right?” The younger wizard reponds, doing his best to touch his fingers to his toes.

“Yeah, alright Beckham,” Zayn mocks with a mild roll of the eyes.

At the mention of his new nickname, Elijah smirks, glad that Zayn hadn’t forgotten what he had said about it and pleased that he had followed through.

“You know I was thinking about what Liam said before the game,” the boy wonders aloud. “What are you gonna do if we _do_ end up going up against each together in the championship?”

Zayn barely hesitates with his answer, knowing that it was a simple one. “What I did last year when we did: sit in the Hufflepuff section and wear blue for the rest of the year if we lose.”

Elijah rolls his neck before sitting back down on the leather throne. “And if we win?”

The first thing that comes to Zayn’s mind is _console Liam_. When Ravenclaw had reigned victorious over Gryffindor in the last game their second year, he remembers having to keep reassuring his best friend that there’s always gonna be next year. Next year turned into four, but Zayn thinks that once he actually had that championship under his belt his first year as captain, the wait was worth it.

His alliance to Gryffindor aside, Zayn wouldn’t mind his last year at the school ending with the House’s fourth victory in seven years.

“Get to keep Teddy as a friend since I wouldn’t have gone to the Gryffindor party.” It’s partially a joke and partially the truth, but by the way Elijah looks to be preoccupied with tweaking a symbol, Zayn doesn’t think he cares too much.

“Speaking of which,” the other says in a curious tone. “Why didn’t Liam come to our party Saturday? You went to his.”

The simple answer would be that Zayn doesn’t play quidditch, and therefore never participates too much in the parties because of that; only if Teddy begs him to come or if he’s up for a drink will Zayn attend on time rather than show up at the end because it’s his common room and he was done with his previous engagements for the night. Now he supposes he’ll be more active towards them due to the wizard in the room with him, but Zayn’s interested to hear why Elijah cared if the Gryffindor showed up.

“Did you want him to come?” Zayn returns, kicking his own legs out in front of him so he can lean back in the chair comfortably.

“I don’t know, I guess it would have been kinda cool if he did. He came to wish me good luck so I thought he might’ve.” Elijah speaks with apprehension and minor disappointment, something Zayn blames on a mixture between being honest about his feelings and perhaps getting his hopes up after seeing that Liam, the all star quidditch player, cared about him in some capacity.

“Are you guys ok?” Elijah adds with even more caution. “You seemed weird when you saw him.”

Zayn’s sure that the male doesn’t mean for his words to seem like a loaded question, but it’s hard not to feel like it is. Without wanting to lie to spare his own feelings, Zayn plays it neutral. “We’re...not on the best of terms at the moment.”

“What’d you do?” Elijah asks, twirling one of his drumsticks over his knuckles like he usually does with his wand.

“Hey! Why do you automatically assume _I_ did something?” Zayn exclaims, his expression an obvious one that’s filled with disbelief. “He’s not as innocent as he makes himself out to be, believe it or not.”

Surprised at the hostile words, Elijah stops his spinning and gives Zayn his attention. “So what’d _he_ do then.”

Letting out a loud breath, the older wizard tries to come up with what to say. Since Elijah didn’t know a thing, he could easily make up some story to get him off his back, but the boy didn’t deserve that. “Let’s just say we’re not getting together any time soon.”

“Should’ve taken my tips.” Zayn clocks his own temper, reminding himself that this isn’t Louis and that he couldn’t (and shouldn’t) say anything too hurtful in retaliation. His face must have said it all though, because Elijah looks extremely guilty at having set something off in him. “Sorry, bad joke.” Zayn’s staring at him, but still ends up wincing at the powerful ‘ba dum, tss’ that cut the previously mellow air.

“I’ll get it over it eventually,” the seventh year deadpans, not wanting to talk about Liam any more than he has to. “It was nice to meet your parents though.”

Fortunately Elijah looked to be taking the hint, but what was once remorse on his face, now turns to anguish. “I miss ‘em already.”

 _So much for picking a lighter topic,_ Zayn thinks to himself.

“Writing helps, but it’s not the same.” The younger Ravenclaw puts both drumsticks in one hand to free up his right to run through his short hair. “I was just starting to get used to being away from home, but seeing them again put me back to day one.”

All of Zayn’s former feelings of discomfort melt away and are replaced with empathy at his friend’s openness. From time to time they’d have serious moments between them, but for the most part the two stuck to light hearted conversation. With time came trust, and Zayn figured it was only appropriate for him to match the other’s personal admonission.

“I miss mine too.”

Elijah’s eyes widen in realization at how his own words might have made his mentor feel. “Zayn, I really didn’t mean to…”

Zayn shakes his head calmly, “No it’s alright, I know you didn’t.” The drummer relaxes at the reassurance, but still watches Zayn with sensitivity from where he’s sat several meters away. “And I know I can’t really give all that much advice on homesickness, because, well, my home’s not really mine, but it’s sort of become one over the years, so I know what it’s like to miss Liam’s parents.” He sways his head back and forth, “not exactly the same thing, but they treat me like one of their own so it’s hard not to miss them like I am one.”

There’s an easy silence that follows Zayn’s explanation. When he brings his gaze back to Elijah from staring at the abandoned instruments scattered throughout the room, he sees him fighting himself on if he should say what he wants or not. After hearing his questions, Zayn understands why.

“Do you ever miss them? Your parents?”

“I used to,” Zayn answers quickly, but stops his stream of consciousness to make sense of it before continuing.

His parents are a painful topic, but Zayn’s done his share of grieving throughout the years, so it’s not as hard to talk about as it once was. He can’t imagine being able to answer the question four or five years ago without crying. Now? Well now, he still hurts, but he’s learned to accept it for what it is and not let the anger he has towards them, cripple him.

“All the time actually.” Zayn rubs his eyes with his palms, digging in at the memories. “When I stayed with Liam the first summer I kept thinking that they’d change their minds and all it was going to take was time, but then winter rolled around and when it came time to declare if I was going home or staying at the castle for the break I gave up hoping they’d come around.”

Elijah quirks an eyebrow, “I didn’t know you could stay here when school wasn’t in session.”

“Yeah me either. Probably wouldn’t be as cool as it sounds,” he writes off. “Too quiet and all that, even for me.”

“So you didn’t stay?”

Zayn raises his eyebrows, “Liam’s family letting me stay here alone? They’d never. As soon as he told his parents that mine were still MIA, they offered me to go to back to theirs. Never been a question ever since.”

At first Zayn thinks Elijah’s going to ask more about his real parents, but he’s taken by surprise when that’s not the case. “Being with my parents just felt normal,” the boy muses. “Like, I miss them, don’t get me wrong, but I missed...what I’m used to, if that makes sense.” He looks up from the snare drum to see if what he’s said has at all resonated with Zayn. “Being here, every day’s something new and it was nice to not have to think about anything for once.”

“Familiar,” Zayn offers simply.

Elijah nods in relief, “Yeah, exactly.”

“I was lucky. As soon as I got tired or overwhelmed from having to learn about so much new stuff, I’d just mention something non-magical and Liam would shut up like I was god.” Zayn smiles at Elijah’s small laugh. “I had it good that way. Don’t know how I would’ve done if I couldn’t have taken a break or escape it for at least a few hours.”

The more that the two got to know each other, the more that Zayn realized just how strong Elijah really was entering this whole new world, essentially on his own. Being as self-aware as he was, Zayn knew that he’d probably have gone crazy by now without being able to skate when he needed a breather.

“I have this place,” Elijah points around the room with one of his sticks. “It’s better than nothing. Still not over the lack of internet though.”

Zayn groans at the mention of technology. “What I would give for YouTube.” He leans over to lay down once more. “One of those new iPads with YouTube, a glass of Ribena and packet of Wotsits…”

“Stooop,” Elijah draws out dramatically at Zayn’s illusory tone and fantasy. “The more I think about it, the more I want to hop back on the train.”

\---

For the next two weeks Zayn does his best to forgo thinking up any more modern technological dreams, although they do make for good pick me ups when he finds himself waking up from literal taunting ones.

Gone are the nights of his euphoric memories coming to life. In their place are recollections of Zayn deciding to reach out to his parents to let them know how he was doing at the end of his second year after being hit by a sudden wave of optimism that they might at least write back, only to completely break down at the Payne’s breakfast table after Abra had returned the next day with his envelope unopened and a huge handwritten ‘ **DO NOT CONTACT OR WE WILL REPORT YOUR BIRD** ’ on the front, and the time one of Liam’s neighbors had asked if they had gotten a foreign exchange student since they hadn’t ever seen Zayn before, and if they remembered correctly, he would be starting secondary school in the Fall. Zayn ‘accidentally’ trampled over their front garden retrieving his football the next morning, making sure to apologize to their faces so they could hear his posh West London accent loud and clear.

Surprisingly those weren’t the worst.

The worst came when Zayn was forced to relive the day Liam had told him that he broke up with his girlfriend because the summer was _their_ time to be together and he didn’t want to have to divide his attention between his best friend and some girl.

Sitting across from the same guy the next morning and trying to stomach his eggs and toast instead of wishing that the Liam of today could take a lesson from the Liam of two years ago, wasn’t easy.

Things _were_ improving, however. Zayn was able to start sitting next to Liam in Charms again, and the two were able to partake in small talk without the need of one of the other three to jump in and help eliminate the tension in the air. Like he had warned, the Gryffindor was absent a lot more than normal, but with the time that he was around Zayn and the boys, they got on civilly. They weren’t perfect, but they were on their way.

With winter break and the end of the term fast approaching, there was barely any time for chit chat anyway. Having to juggle an advanced N.E.W.T. class, tutoring, making time for Elijah, and finishing up his Charms project, Zayn wasn’t sure how he was even able to make it out of bed in the morning. He should probably stop complaining about climbing the seven flights of stairs to his room and be grateful for the peaceful darkness that the Tower provides at night and the consistent daylight that gets him up - if he isn’t already from nagging dreams.

Even though he shouldn’t be happy that his friends look just as worn out by the cycle as he does, their knackered appearances did make Zayn feel better that he wasn’t the only one.

\---

“Once we get this presentation over with, I can finally have a life again,” Louis complains once Niall’s finished practicing his speech for the group, leaning so far back in his chair that Harry’s eyeing it to make sure he doesn’t fall backwards.

The blonde moves from where he’s stood in the middle of the room to a seat around the table. “Drop your other three classes and forget to tell us then?”

“If only…” Louis whines with a petulant frown.

Harry looks away from his boyfriend’s unstable position to stare at the other two. “Where’s Liam?”

It’s a good question, but all Zayn can do is shrug. He knew that the weekends were heavy quidditch days for players, but even with their friendship getting back to normal, Zayn still wasn’t as filled in on Liam’s schedule as he used to be ironically.

“Not sure,” Niall replies, now wondering the same thing. He pulls out his copy of their group card and double checks to see that his message for Liam to meet them in their hideaway to practice their Charms presentations for the next day had sent; it was the only way to let him in on the meetup since he didn’t show for dinner. “Didn’t even want to revise for Defense Against the Dark Arts with us this week,” Niall adds, putting the card away once he confirmed that the note had in fact gone through.

Harry now grew more concerned at the reminder. “Should we check on him? He seemed kind of out of it at lunch.”

“Probably just had a hard quidditch practice,” Louis dismisses, letting his chair drop back down to all four legs and reaching for his quill when he saw something he wanted to change on his speech cards.

Zayn knows that he’d have felt the warmth in his pocket if there was anything on either of his cards, but he still takes out Liam’s red one for good measure. Peering at his wand on the table in front of him, Zayn hesitates before picking up the wood. _It can’t hurt to see if he’s ok_ , he thinks. No matter what came between them, Liam was still the most important person in his life, romantically or not.

**_All good?_ **

“Zayn, how often do you get these from Thomas?”

Niall’s question comes right as he’s folding the note back up and shoving it into his pocket.

“Like once or twice a week,” he answers when he sees that the boy’s picked up the copy of The London Times that he had brought with him. “I usually go to his office and read them but I didn’t have time this week, so he let me take it to read when I could.”

Niall’s pointing to one of the headlines on the front page that reports England’s lost the bid to host the 2018 World Cup to Russia. “Have you been to Russia?”

Zayn can’t help but chuckle, making sure to not let it come off as him ridiculing the Slytherin’s lack of understanding that when he says he’s traveled, that doesn’t mean to _everywhere_ , but rather as a sign of fondness towards his naivety. “No, the closest I’ve gotten was Pakistan when I was nine. I told you about that, remember?”

Niall’s ignoring his question, eyes still skimming the muggle newspaper. “We should go for this football thing.”

Holding back from pointing out that The Games are nearly seven and a half years away, Zayn lets his hand run over his pocket to try and pick up any heat that he knows isn’t there. “I hate to be the one to break it to you,” he cautions with a humourous smile, “but Ireland isn’t the best of football teams.”

Niall folds the paper in half and sets it back near Zayn’s things. “I remember you told me. Maybe by 2018 we’ll have kicked our asses into gear.”

“The Cup’s every four years, you could still-”

“Have you ever woken up from a late night of revising or partying with massive circles under your eyes?”

Zayn’s sending Louis a dirty look when he starts up with his presentation in the middle of his conversation. “I wasn’t done talking.”

“I was done listening,” Louis objects with a sarcastic smirk, clearing his throat before continuing on with his opening delivery. “Well I’ve got a spell for you!”

About halfway through Louis’ presentation Zayn feels that Liam’s written him back. Not at all concerned with throwing the male off, he pulls out the card and is stunned at what he’s reading.

**_Yeah, still working on finishing. Might miss breakfast. Thanks for checking in_ **

Still finishing? Was Liam mental? They had less than twelve hours before they’d have to get up in front of the class, how had he managed to not finish yet? Bitter feelings aside about his poor ability to schedule, was Liam _that_ swamped that he needed to work up until the last minute to complete a project that they had an entire term to work on?

Placing the paper back in his trousers, Zayn just prayed that he’d be able to pull it off in time.

\---

Sure enough, Liam doesn’t show up to breakfast the next morning and Zayn’s got to disclose what he found out the night before to the others before Harry actually walks up to the Gryffindor common room himself to get answers.

“What are you on about he wasn’t done yet?” Louis asks incredulously as they pick up their things and start the walk to Charms.

“That’s what he said,” Zayn shrugs, keeping close to Niall as they walk past a huge group of third years in the corridor. He knows Louis still feels somewhat guilty about his and Liam’s falling out, and that’s the _only_ reason he’s not saying something about how _Zayn_ had reached out to Liam to have the information to start with.

“He’ll either give the best performance out of all of us or he’ll go down like the Titanic,” Louis predicts confidently, not feeling the need to glance over to Zayn to make sure he used the saying correctly.

Thankfully Liam was already in the classroom by the time they got there, going over what looked to be a sheet of his notes. When Zayn gets closer he can hear the boy whispering the words to himself, stopping as soon as he feels the presence of the others.

“Hey guys,” Liam says, while turning over his papers - a move that didn’t go unnoticed by Zayn when he took his seat next to him.

“Please tell me you finished,” Harry asks with bated breath, keeping his eyes on Liam as he sets his things down on his and Louis’ table.

“At around four this morning,” Liam responds, and when Zayn really took a good look at him, it showed.

His hair wasn’t fully straight, it had a few ends curled up - most likely a product of him not being able to concentrate hard enough when he cast the straightening spell on barely four hours of sleep, and there wasn’t that warmth of colour to his skin that Zayn adored.

“It’s too bad my spell doesn’t exist. You could use it.” Louis’ giving Liam a good natured smile before turning around in his seat and volunteering to go first once Flitwick’s opening up the floor.

The Slytherin’s met with a healthy round of applause once he’s done, Zayn rolling his eyes when he bows in thanks to each side of the room. “Still think the drink disguise spell would’ve been better, but not a bad response,” Louis comments when he takes his seat.

Niall’s presentation has a majority of the class moaning in frustration when they hear his concept, wishing that it wasn’t just a project and that even if it was real, why it was only coming about during their last year of education.

Flitwick mentions that Harry should speak with Professor Longbottom about the viability of his plant spell, and Zayn causes a wave of excitement at the thought that the muggle technology he’s speaking of could be used at Hogwarts. He whispers to Liam that he should go after him so their presentations could compliment each other like how they were originally thought up, but Liam’s shaking his head and saying he wants to go last. Another girl goes up while they’re talking, but Zayn’s still trying to decipher if Liam’s nerves have got the best of him (which would’ve been ridiculous considering the class was already smaller than a normal one and those in it have been the same students since the start of the N.E.W.T. level class a year ago) or if his order decision has anything to do with why he hid his notes earlier.

Eventually everyone has presented but Liam, Zayn only really caring for one girl’s twist on the wind control spell ‘ventus tria’ that allowed for incorporation with other elements.

“Have we saved the best for last Mr. Payne?” Professor Flitwick asks from the back of the room where he’s been sat on one of the tables, grading.

“I resent that,” Zayn hears Louis mutter under his breath while Liam’s gathering his papers.

“I’m not sure,” Liam answers the professor modestly, making his way up to the front of the room and placing his notes on the stand.

He was obviously there for the origin of Liam’s music charm, but Zayn hadn’t been privy to much of the other’s research since then, besides seeing what books he surrounded himself with when they shared a table early on in the term. Pair that with the fact that he hadn’t shown up to the group’s practice session last night, and Zayn literally had no idea what to expect when Liam’s surveying his audience.

“I come from a pureblood family, like a lot of us.” Zayn narrows his eyes at his friend, defensiveness finding its way to the surface at how Liam was starting out. “So for me, magic was all I knew growing up. I couldn’t hear enough stories from my older sisters of what it was like to go to Hogwarts. Every year we’d go get their supplies, I couldn’t wait until it was my turn and I could go off to school to become a proper wizard.” He pauses to take a small breath and Zayn’s really curious as to where he’s going with this because it doesn’t sound at all like the route he would take to describe a song enchantment spell.

“I was six when my oldest sister got her wand,” Liam carries on. “I was so excited for her that my Dad almost had to take me out of Ollivander's because I kept touching all the boxes.” A small rumble of laughter fills the room. “Then a couple years later my other sister got hers and I remember being so frustrated at how much time still needed to pass before that was me. I had a straight up countdown on my wall that showed me how much longer I had, and looking back, it probably wasn’t the smartest thing to have because it just made the time feel like it was going by a lot slower than it really was.” As Liam’s speaking, he’s doing his best to let his eyes wander over the listeners but they stop on Zayn this go around. “And then I met Zayn.”

Any sense of aggravation at how the boy had started his speech was now gone, Zayn so confused at what was unfolding, that all he could do was stare back at his best friend’s evocative gaze.

Liam was the first to tear his eyes away, going back to distributing his words equally among the crowd. “We went to get our wands together, and it was so _strange_ , because I always thought that I’d go alone and get there and take ages just figuring out what wand fit me. Chatting to Mr. Ollivander about it for the rest of the day because that was my first ticket to magic, you know? And Zayn _knows_ , I was a chatty kid.” There’s no helping the smile that spreads over both boys’ faces at how true that statement was, the rest of the class laughing once more. “But it wasn’t like that at all. It took me three tries and one burned plank of wood later to find my wand,” he took the object out of his pocket to show to the class before setting it down on the podium with his notes. “And I was thrilled, I was. There was this red smoke that came out of the tip and it smelled like rose water.”

Zayn feels his heart swell at Liam remembering the small detail that he had been so torn up about in the moment because no one had cared to comment on it.

“And then Zayn went, and he got his on his first try. I was actually pretty mad since it took me three,” Liam laughs, “but then I was more confused than anything else because his wand didn’t chose him outwardly like it had mine and my sisters. You just, felt some sort of energy, right?” He’s back to studying Zayn, waiting for an answer, everyone else doing the same.

“Yeah. He called it a bond,” Zayn replies with a nod, too transfixed with the story to care about the other twenty pairs of eyes on him.

“Right, a bond.” Liam goes back to addressing the whole class. “I’ve never told him this but I was so jealous.”

Zayn’s eyebrows furrow in bewilderment as to why that would’ve ever affected the male.

“Not because I thought his wand matched him better or liked him more - I don’t even know if that’s possible,” Liam thought out loud. “I was jealous because it was something I couldn’t ever experience. I was so captivated by magic and wands and the world that I could unlock with both, that to know something existed like a wizard bonding to his wand, but not be able to see it or understand it beyond just knowing it could happen? I was jealous that he _could_.” Quietness comes over the class as he takes a brief pause to look down at his notes. “Then during our third year he broke his and I felt almost as if I had broken mine. _That’s_ how special I thought his wand was in relation to him. While it was off getting repaired at Ollivander’s I made him a makeshift one out of a tree branch so that he could have a placeholder to practice movements with.” Liam laughs at the memory, “and if any of you had classes with him back then, you’ll remember it because it was so clearly fake.”

“It looked shit,” Louis throws in, causing the loudest laughter yet, Niall practically rolling out of his seat.

“Mr. Tomlinson…” Professor Flitwick scolds from behind.

“Well it did,” the Slytherin defends ruthlessly, peeking back at Niall with a smirk.

“I tried so hard to make it look identical from memory, but yeah, it was bad.” Zayn wants to tell Liam that the fact that he memorized _someone else’s_ wand well enough to even _try_ and reconstruct it was amazing in itself, but he doesn’t want to stop his flow. “Anyway,” Liam continues, containing himself and going back to his professional tone. “I was worried that the bond wouldn’t be the same, but Mr. Ollivander’s a genius and when it came back, Zayn said it felt like new.”

The boy takes a deep breath as he flips over one of his pieces of parchment.

“Zayn hardly knew anything about magic when we met.” Zayn’s uneasiness creeps in again at the possibility that Liam might expose his upbringing to the entirety of seventh year Charms, but he has enough faith in the boy to know that that most likely won’t be the case and his nerves can calm down. “He introduced me to a different side of life that was always around me in Wolverhampton; I just never had anyone to tell me that it was worth knowing more about, beyond how wizards viewed it.

“When we were trying to come up with ideas on what to do for the project I asked him how cool would it be if you could turn on a radio and it could play you the perfect song that would fit your mood at the moment? He introduced me to so much throughout the years, including non-magical music, and when we’re here at school, sometimes I catch myself doing something and remembering a song that we listened to during the summer at HMV, and thinking that it would be the perfect soundtrack for that point in time. So I thought I’d make an enchantment for a radio to do that automatically for you and Zayn could make a spell that allowed a non-magical radio or iPod to work at Hogwarts to begin with and that would be that. But then, I got to thinking, and the more research I did on how to get a wand to react to the emotional elements of the charm, the more I realized that he’s taught me more about myself than trivial sayings or pop culture references.”

You could hear a pen drop in the room, but Zayn’s ears were filled with the sound of blood rushing, his heart beating deeper the more Liam spoke.

“I’m a quidditch player and I’m a wizard and I’m...a lot of different things, and deep down I’m still that six year old who couldn’t sit still living in a world of magic, but when he came along he balanced me out. I had to teach him everything I knew about my life just like he had to teach me everything about his, and being able to share my passion for magic made me realize who I really was.

“I could talk for the rest of my life about how much I love magic, but my enjoyment for passing on that amazement to someone else, is something that I never would have discovered about myself if it weren’t for Zayn. My experience getting my wand was different than how I always envisioned it because it wasn’t just about me. I got to see how special the moment could be for another first time wizard that wasn’t related to me and that didn’t grow up in a pureblood world. I want to be a part of that moment for younger wizards and share my affection for magic with others for the rest of my life.

“And I _know_ my stick wand was rubbish,” Liam admits unashamed, “but I took forever to make that thing. If that doesn’t show how I see that there’s more to a wand than its powers, and that I should be a wandmaker, then I don’t know what does.”

Everything up to this point had Zayn feeling a mix of emotions, but hearing Liam come out and say he wanted to be wandmaker with no mention of it being a backup plan to quidditch, had him feeling speechless.

“So, I decided to change my project and create a spell that repairs wands.” Liam furrows his eyebrows before correcting himself. “Or, at least repairs wands that suffer from cracked wood by means of counterattacks, which was what happened to Zayn’s four years ago.”

Now all Zayn can do is stare at Liam in shock. Wand repair was practically impossible to do if you weren’t the person who crafted the wand or at least helped design it, but even then, Zayn imagined they’d have to do much more than just cast a spell. Even with the more niche type of repair, for a seventh year to come remotely close to creating a workable spell to do that was unheard of, but once Liam started explaining his theories and elements of how the spell would need to be formed, it seemed like he had.

Following explaining a diagram he drew on the chalkboard, Liam steps back behind the podium. “I know that was a lot,” he laughs nervously, “but I think it might work.”

The class erupts in applause, Zayn still reeling from the design on the board to do anything other than clap blindly.

“Mr. Ollivander would be proud Mr. Payne,” Flitwick says from the back of the room. “And I think you should all be proud of _yourselves_. Everyone did splendidly, I’m extremely impressed. Congratulations, you all passed.”

“Passed?” Niall exclaims in dismay.

“Yes Mr. Horan, this was a pass fail assignment,” the professor clarifies. “I didn’t want to tell you all until now because that would greatly diminish your efforts, which I’m glad didn’t happen because as I said, you were all amazing.”

“I can’t believe I worked that bloody hard for nothing,” Louis mumbles to Harry, sinking low in his chair disgruntled.

“So pat yourselves on the back and take a well deserved night off,” Flitwick smiles at the class from atop his pile of books that had acted as his seat on the desk. “Thank you again everyone, class dismissed. I’ll see you all tomorrow afternoon.”

Before anyone could say a word to him, Zayn was out of his seat and marching up to the blackboard where Liam was now wiping off his writing.

“So what’d you think?” The Gryffindor asks with uncertainty when he sees his friend’s now at his side.

“What the hell was that?” Zayn demands quietly, not wanting to bring too much attention to their conversation even though the rest of the class was well on their way to emptying the room.

Liam pauses his strokes for a second before continuing. “That’s not an answer.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone that you changed your project?” Seeing that he’s not worth being given full attention to, Zayn considers grabbing the eraser just so that Liam will give him some sort of eye contact.

“Still not an answer,” the boy repeats.

Zayn sighs out of annoyance, but also out of defeat. “It was fucking incredible.” The compliment finally gets Liam to face him, the male’s expression a relief filled one.

“I did it for you,” Liam says simply, standing there, staring back at Zayn with tired, but hopeful eyes.

The Ravenclaw looks puzzled at the confession. “What do you mean you did it for me?”

“Don’t worry about cleaning up Mr. Payne, I’ll take care of it,” Flitwick informs him as he walks up the middle aisle towards the front of the room. “And you really should be proud of yourself, that was outstanding work.”

“Thank you professor,” Liam replies politely.

“If you’re serious about wandmaking I can write a letter of recommendation for you to Ollivander himself. After that presentation I think you’d be a frontrunner for his last apprenticeship.”

Zayn can feel the excitement radiate off Liam from where he’s stood.

“That would be amazing, thank you,” the Gryffindor beams at the small man in appreciation and liveliness.

“Any professional quidditch team would be losing a great player, but I think you’ve realized what suits you better.” Flitwick uses his steps to reach the top of his desk, taking the two boys in from there. “I must admit, I was worried you wouldn’t finish when you came to me wanting to switch projects a few weeks ago.”

Zayn nearly shoves Liam he’s so floored when he hears the new information. “You did that in less than a month?”

“You’re to blame Mr. Malik.” Still full of energy, Zayn turns back to the professor, now fully baffled by everything that he’s heard in the past fifteen minutes. “By the way, good work as well. If you ever want to discuss making it a reality, we can talk in the common room one of these nights. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got another class coming in in fifteen minutes, so I’ll be needing the room to set up.”

“Thank you,” Zayn replies without hesitation. “We’ll get out of your hair.” He leads the way back to the desks to retrieve their things, speaking even quieter than before since it’s just the two of them left now. “You’ve got the entire hour before Potions to give me a full explanation.”

Liam acknowledges him shortly as he puts his books in his bag and throws the strap over his shoulder, “ok.”

Right as they’re about to exit the classroom they’re stopped by the professor’s voice.

“Oh and Zayn?” He calls out. “Would you let Mr. Rancourt know that the new pedal I ordered came in? If the two of you use the music room tonight he’s welcome to try it out.”

Zayn nods in response and makes a mental note to pass on the message. “I’ll let him know.”

When he turns around he sees that Liam’s holding the door open for him, but instead of thanking him like he should have, Zayn just walks through and mutters a “speak” while leading the way down the Charms Corridor and towards the heart of the school.

\---

Normally Zayn would never speak so roughly to Liam, rather the opposite actually; his crued deliveries were usually reserved for reprimanding Louis. Even more rare was Zayn allowing anyone else to talk to his best friend like he was, though Liam hardly gave anyone reason to so in the first place.

“Can we go somewhere more private?”

The halls are full of students lazily making their way to their next classes, but Zayn still hears Liam’s question, and while they could just wait until the underclassmen get to their classes, he agrees. “Sure.”

The younger wizard walks like he’s got a destination in mind, and even though they’re not speaking, Zayn thinks he has a good idea what it might be when they enter a corridor he never frequents.

“Close your ears,” Liam commands once they stop in front of a painting of an older man with a long mustache.

Clasping his hands over his ears, Zayn watches as the painting opens after a few seconds, signaling that Liam had said the password and it was safe to listen in again.

“No one should be in here at this time of day, but let me go first just in case.” By now practically all the hallways are empty, but Liam looks behind him and Zayn just in case anyone sees him escort the Ravenclaw into the private room.

Following behind once Liam’s deemed it safe, Zayn stares in awe at the sparkling marble that covers nearly every surface of the Prefect’s Bathroom, including the ostentatious bath that sat in the center of the room.

Ever since Liam had become a quidditch captain the year prior, the boys had been dying to see what it was like inside, but he had refused to take anyone. The Gryffindor could bend the rules here and there, but when it came to something that involved other people, he drew the line. Zayn had always been enticed by the secrecy of it all and he understood Liam’s reasoning for not wanting others to feel intruded on, but now that he was stood inside the quarters, he couldn’t help but think it lived up to every one of his expectations.

There was a part of Zayn that felt like he needed to take his shoes off, but as he watched Liam check the room and stalls for anyone, oxfords still on, he let the thought go.

Drawn to the empty pool-like tub, Zayn walks over, examining the different taps and reading all the labels for the different soaps, water colours, and foams. Scanning the surrounding walls, he notes the ornate towels and robes, but no spots to really sit down, so he lowers himself to the edge of the tub and lets his feet hang over the edge.

“First time I came in here this reminded me of when you showed me what a skate park was and had to explain why you skated in an empty pool.” Liam points to the bath, copying the other’s seating position and leaning back on both arms.

Zayn shrugs, while staring down at his shoes. “There’s no reason, you just do.”

“Yeah,” Liam smiled to himself, “that’s what you said then too.” A few beats pass and without getting a response, Liam figures he should get to the point. “So, I guess I should probably explain myself.”

“That’d be a good start,” Zayn affirms in a bored tone.

There’s another short pause before Liam decides to speak. “You were right,” he admits confidently. “I shouldn’t have started something I couldn’t promise to finish. And I really apologize if you only agreed to…” Zayn turns his head to look over at Liam, catching the barely there blush in the boy’s cheeks that usually belonged to him when talking about explicit rendezvous. “Help me relax because I said I’d go out with you. I had every intention to.”

It’s been a month since Zayn’s worse nightmare had come true, but being reminded of it still hurt just as much as the day of. He’d let Liam continue because he knew there had to be a rhyme to his reason given what he witnessed in class not too long ago, but if the boy stretched out the painful memory more than he had to, then Zayn would have to step in.

“I didn’t _ask_ to become Head Boy.” Liam sat up, gripping the edge of the pool with both hands. “You were there when I got the letter, it was completely unpredictable. I knew I’d be quidditch captain again, and I had a year of experience in the position to know what to expect with that. I mean, I decided to only take three N.E.W.T. classes my sixth year _because_ of quidditch and focusing on getting recruited,” he highlights. “So to not be a prefect, and then suddenly be in charge of all of them, wasn’t a part of the plan. I accepted because I’d be crazy not to, but I had no idea it was going to be this much work. I can’t imagine what things would be like if I _didn’t_ have a small class load.”

None of this was news to Zayn, and because of that he was this close to telling Liam to get a move on.

“What I’m trying to say,” the boy rushes, sensing Zayn’s irritation, “is that I **_want_** to be with you, it wasn’t a game.” Taking his feet from out of the empty tub and crossing his legs, Liam shifts to face Zayn so he can him show how serious he was. “Things just got out of hand with everything else that I wasn’t able to put you first as my best friend, much less as a boyfriend, and that’s what you deserve.”

Hearing another echoed comment has Zayn letting his temper be known. “Yeah, you keep telling me that and yet…”

Liam exhales loudly, but not from frustration at Zayn, more at himself. “Yet I’m going to change it,” he promises, troubled that his friend’s animosity didn’t go away with his words. “Hear me out, ok?” Running his hands over his trousers, Liam waits until he can tell that Zayn’s not going to yell at him before carrying on. “The past few weeks have been miserable for me, having to see what I’ve done to you and what I’ve done to us.” He points between both of their bodies. “I started looking up if anyone had ever stepped down from Head Boy in the past, it got that bad. I thought that if I had more free time, then I’d be able to make things at least go back to how they used to be, but then I realized that I didn’t want that anymore. We’ve already crossed the line and I can’t go back. ‘S why I changed my project; I wanted to show you how much you mean to me.”

At the sound of Liam contemplating quitting his position as Head Boy, Zayn starts to believe what his best friend’s saying. He’s not the type to even flirt with that sort of disappointment unless it was for dire reasons.

“I still want you Zayn,” the male says with desperation. “More than a best friend, and more than just out of lust. I might have more official responsibilities than you, but you have Elijah and tutoring and four classes.” Liam shakes his head, “basically five, with the fourth being advanced, and you _still_ make time for your friends. I should be able to do that for you. I’m _going_ to do that for you.”

There’s conviction in Liam’s voice, Zayn can hear it from a mile away, but he’s still unsure if this is all too good to be true.

Liam can sense his hesitation, face falling at the chance he might be too late. “If you still want me to that is…”

Breaking their eye contact, Zayn stares down at the bath. It hits him that he’s sat in front of about a three meter drop, yet he doesn’t feel any sort of fear like he normally would from being this close to a death from heights.

“Did you mean what you said about the wandmaking?” He asks, still not removing his line of sight from the white marble.

“Yeah.” Liam watches Zayn carefully, focused on giving him a good answer rather than letting his emotions get ahead of him when he’s not receiving a direct yes or no. “I love quidditch and I’m still going to try and beat Teddy for the Cup,” he jokes light heartedly, “but I don’t think I’ll take any offers if any come my way. You heard my presentation, my heart lies with spreading my love for magic, and that starts with being able to create the most meaningful magical tool there is.”

“It really was brilliant,” Zayn praises with a proud grin, finally glancing over at the boy again. “I still can’t get over that you came up with it in less than a month.”

Even though Liam’s told him just now that he’s struggled with everything that’s been handed to him, it starts to make sense as to why he’s been more absent then usual, and working himself to the bone into the early hours of the morning.

Seeing Zayn’s smile gave Liam a much needed boost of confidence, his own lips turning up because of it. “I wanted to be able to surprise you. You’ve made me discover the real me - the side of myself I wouldn’t have seen because I was always just the Liam who loved magic. I thought that maybe the grand gesture would be just romantic enough to get you to give me a second chance.”

Zayn can see from the way Liam’s doing his best not to let his eyes dart away from Zayn’s that he’s nervous to hear what the other thinks about his declaration.

“It certainly didn’t hurt it,” he responds coyly, giving himself a mental fist bump at how smooth he was being in comparison to the beginning of the term.

Liam’s eyes shine bright with joy. “So what do you think? Dinner with me tonight in the secret room?”

“Tonight?” Zayn expected a ‘this weekend’ or ‘let me sort myself out first and I’ll get back to you’, but definitely not before he falls asleep that night.

“Yeah, no more waiting,” Liam says with assertion. “I’m all yours.”

And it’s music to Zayn’s ears, but there’s one thing standing in his way. “I usually meet with Elijah at around eight on Mondays.”

“I know, so maybe we grab food from the kitchen earlier than six and as soon as we’re done, you can go to him.”

He doesn’t need to look, Zayn can tell that he’s radiating. How can he not with Liam finally giving him what he’s wanted?

“And I’m not going to find out you handed over your badge one morning, right?” Zayn quirks up an eyebrow, no sign of doubt in his features that might be expected with such a query.

Liam shuts his right eye as he shakes his head. “No, I’ll figure it out. You deserve it.”

In a second’s time, Zayn’s pulling his legs up and kneeling in front of Liam, pulling him in by his red and gold tie and kissing him deeply.

Without separating them, Liam shifts onto his own knees, making sure to be weary of how close they were to the edge of the bath.

Zayn pulls away when he needs a second to breath, just resting his forehead against Liam’s. His grip loosens from the other’s tie, fingers dragging down his chest, and settling on the other’s thigh.

“The rest of the guys aren’t going to believe you let me in here,” he whispers, feeling Liam’s smile upon his.

“Do you like it?” The male questions in the same volume.

“It’s insane.” Leaning back on his knees, Zayn takes in the room around them one more time.

“Most likely won’t be able to bring you in again,” Liam says in disappointment. “Shouldn’t even be here in the first place, but it was the only place I could think of where we wouldn’t get interrupted at this time during the day.”

Vision landing back on the boy in front of him, an idea springs to Zayn’s mind.

“Should probably take advantage of it then, yeah?” He’s biting his lip, watching Liam’s eyes trail down as he does so.

“How much time do you have until your potions class starts?” The male asks, already leaning in with hungry eyes.

“Enough,” Zayn mumbles against Liam’s lips, capturing them in his own immediately after.

\---

Thirty minutes later and Liam’s dropping Zayn off in front of the Potions door in the dungeons, sneaking in another kiss to both of their very chapped lips, before starting the walk back upstairs.

Louis’ first to bombard with him questions, making sure to finish with _and don’t beat around the bush either_ (a top contender for favourite muggle phrase of his that Zayn’s taught him). Niall and Harry both congratulate him for finally getting his happy ending once they’re all filled in, the Hufflepuff insisting that they celebrate at lunch.

But when they’re all sat at the edge of the Slytherin table a few hours later, Zayn’s not sure if getting with Liam after his years of longing _was_ his happy ending.

Staring at the boys around him, he thinks that his happy ending simultaneously began and ended when Professor Thomas showed up at his door that fateful summer evening. Odds were, that his parents would never come around and he’d never get to show them the man that he’s growing up to be, prove to them that he was a son worth being proud of because his intellect had destined for him to be one of the greats in this world too. What he lost from them, he gained in the Payne’s, and without their inclusiveness to welcome him with open arms, he would have never found Liam.

For all he knew, they all could be sat in the same room right then, each at their own tables and never understanding how influential their once in a lifetime friendship could be, not listening to Louis go on about how _‘now that that school year resolution can be checked off, on to figuring out an end of the year prank!’_ that makes Harry grimace. ‘ _What’s the worse thing that could happen? We’re seventh years, they can’t kick us out.’_

After eating with Liam that night and listening to Elijah ramble on about drum equipment as he installed the new kick drum pedal, Zayn found himself staring up at the ceiling of his dorm.

Liam was right, he **should** thank fate.

And for the first time in a long time, Zayn falls asleep to dream of the future, not the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was such a special story for me to write, and not only did I have a fun time exploring the characters, but I also thoroughly enjoyed creating so many small character development related intricacies to go along with the theme.
> 
> Please check me out on tumblr [HERE](https://ziamhaze.tumblr.com) \- I'm always open to questions regarding the story and definitely would love to hear if any of you picked up on the intricacies that I put in that were small, but so important to my authoring this Zayn!
> 
> For the following:  
> \- Inspiration photos  
> \- My raw, unedited brainstorming sheet of which includes a peek into how I used scene skeletons to shape the fic before writing, each boy's character profile incl. class schedules, pets, and more  
> \- Full list of current professors  
> \- Pictures of each boy's wand  
> \- Reference links (ex: castle floor by floor map & fanmade class timetable)
> 
> Check out my [ tumblr](https://ziamhaze.tumblr.com/patreon) !
> 
> Feel free to spread the love through picspam [ here ](https://ziamhaze.tumblr.com/post/185183958901/ziam-ficrec-compartment-451-by-ziamhaze-look) too.
> 
> Again, thank you all so much!


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